How much do you know about antibiotics?

I took a great quiz on WebMD on how much I knew about antibiotics.  I was surprised at what I didn't know.  I bet there are probably some things on this quiz that most people would be surprised to know.

Take the quiz here: WebMD Antibiotics Quiz

What kind of infections do Antibiotics treat?

While antibiotics have been around for 70 years they are only good for treating bacterial infections.  When you are sick with a cold or the flu antibiotics will have no effect because they are viruses.  When you take antibiotics when they are not needed it can cause a mutation in the bacteria making them antibiotic resistant.

 Antibacterial cleansers may make germs stronger against antibiotics.



There are studies that suggest triclosan an ingredient in many antibacterial cleansers can cause changes in bacteria which makes antibiotics less effective in treating them.

 

Drugs you take for acne can hurt antibiotic's effects.

Antibiotics are often prescribed for acne.  Prolonged unnecessary use of antibiotics can lead to antibiotic resistance.

You always need antibiotics for ...(strep throat, ear infection, sinus infection).

Sinus infections and ear infections are almost always viral and will subside without the need for antibiotics.  Strep throat is always caused by bacteria.

It's ok to stop taking antibiotics once you feel better.

You should always take your antibiotics as prescribed without skipping doses. Always finish your full course of antibiotics or you risk some of the bacteria surviving and you becoming reinfected.

How many people each year get infections that antibiotics will not help?

At least 2 million!  These types of infections are tuberculosis, infections of the skin, and sexually transmitted infections.  They have lead to 23,000 deaths a year.  While most people contract them at home the ones that often perish from them have been contracted in a health care setting.

Animals can play a role in antibiotics not working.

Often Livestock are given antibiotics to treat infections.  Overuse of antibiotics in livestock also leads to resistance.  When the meat isn't cooked properly the bacteria can be transferred to humans.  This can also come from fertilizer and water used on crops as well.

Fewer new antibiotics have been created in the past 30 years.

There hasn't been a new class of antibiotics discovered since the 80's.  The threat of resistance isn't anything new either.  In Alexander Fleming Nobel Prize speech warned that bacteria may one day become resistant.







How much does antibiotic resistance cost yearly?

Antibiotic resistance takes a toll on the whole healthcare system according to the CDC.  Those that have antibiotic resistant bacteria often become sicker and stay in the hospital longer.

Which germ worries health officials the most?

I really thought it would be MRSA but it was Clostridium difficile.  This nasty bacteria causes life-threatening diarrhea.  It's responsible for 250,000 hospitalizations and 14,000 deaths. 

It's ok to take antibiotics prescribed to someone else.

Antibiotics are prescribed not only for the specific bacteria it's treating but dosed based on height and weight.  If you take the wrong type of antibiotics this is another thing that can lead to antibiotic resistant bacteria.

 

What shocked me was the 2 million infections that antibiotics can't treat.  The cost to the system for antibiotic resistant was a bit of a shock as well.  The one that really got me was that the worst germ wasn't MRSA which we've all heard so much about but Clostridium difficile.