A
Growing Threat
Disease-causing microbes that have become resistant to drug therapy are an increasing
public health problem. Tuberculosis, gonorrhea, malaria, and childhood ear infections
are just a few of the diseases that have become hard to treat with antibiotic
drugs. Part of the problem is that bacteria and other microorganisms that cause
infections are remarkably resilient and can develop ways to survive drugs meant
to kill or weaken them. This antibiotic resistance, also known as antimicrobial
resistance or drug resistance, is due largely to the increasing use of antibiotics.
Other facts:
- Though food-producing animals are given antibiotic drugs for important therapeutic, disease prevention or production reasons, these drugs have the downside of potentially causing microbes to become resistant to drugs used to treat human illness, ultimately making some human sicknesses harder to treat.
- About 70 percent of bacteria that cause infections in hospitals are resistant to at least one of the drugs most commonly used to treat infections.
- Some organisms are resistant to all approved antibiotics and must be treated with experimental and potentially toxic drugs.
- Some research has shown that antibiotics are given to patients more often than guidelines set by federal and other healthcare organizations recommend. For example, patients sometimes ask their doctors for antibiotics for a cold, cough, or the flu, all of which are viral and don't respond to antibiotics. Also, patients who are prescribed antibiotics but don't take the full dosing regimen can contribute to resistance.
- Unless antibiotic resistance problems are detected as they emerge, and actions are taken to contain them, the world could be faced with previously treatable diseases that have again become untreatable, as in the days before antibiotics were developed.
What's being done about the problem? The links below explain and offer reliable information on antibiotic resistance from a variety of sources.
FDA General Background
"The Battle of the Bugs: Fighting Antibiotic Resistance" (FDA Consumer article)
"FDA Publishes Final Rule to Require Labeling About Antibiotic Resistance" (FDA Press Release)
"Antibiotic Resistance from Down on the Farm" (FDA Consumer article)
"Miracle Drugs vs. Superbugs" (FDA Consumer article)
"Antibiotic resistance fact sheet" (National Institutes of Health)
Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (Washington state health dept.)**
Guidance Proposed for Evaluating Safety
of
Antimicrobial Animal Drugs
(FDA talk paper)
"HHS Releases Action Plan To Combat Antimicrobial Resistance" (Dept. of Health and Human Services)
Application Advantages Order Progress Follow Up Glossary of Terms Home
Dermatitis-Ltd III has a 120-day, 100 percent refund for any reason.
ORDER NOW
Bass & Boney, Inc. maintains the confidentiality of all information provided on-line.
Click here to review our privacy policy.
We continually update this site to keep you informed of the latest scientific findings about dermatitis, eczema, or psoriasis.
Irritant Contact Dermatitis
Irritant contact dermatitis is produced by a substance that has a direct toxic effect on the skin. After exposure to an irritant, a skin reaction can occur immediately or gradually after repeated exposure. Examples of common irritants include acids (certain toilet bowl and drain cleaners, dishwasher detergents), alkalis (ammonia, lye), cement, turpentine, and paint thinners. With acute and mild exposure, there is typically redness, swelling, and oozing. If left untreated, the condition can result in dry, thickened, cracked skin.
Irritant contact dermatitis is often more painful than itchy, and is the result of an offending agent that actually damages the skin with which it comes into contact. The longer the skin is in contact—or the more concentrated the agent—the more severe the reaction. Water with added soaps and detergents is the most common cause. Thus, it is not surprising that these reactions appear most often on the hands, and are frequently work-related Individuals with other skin diseases, especially eczema, are most susceptible.
This Dermatitis-Ltd page last updated: July 30, 2010
Copyright © 1998-2005 Bass & Boney, Inc.