Wellness

[Jersey Born]

I think people need to try the natural approaches before resorting to the antibiotics which they may not need. That way, the antibiotics may actually work when needed in an emergency situation. Also, we should stop feeding antibiotics to the animals being raised for consumption, as that is not helping us, either.

[Campion]

On 4/5/2015 Jersey Born said:

I think people need to try the natural approaches before resorting to the antibiotics which they may not need. That way, the antibiotics may actually work when needed in an emergency situation. Also, we should stop feeding antibiotics to the animals being raised for consumption, as that is not helping us, either.

Well, I agree. I try NEVER to have antibiotics; I've become allergic to almost all of them.

HOWEVER, an old person who is in extremis from food poisoning needs help, and that is the case I mentioned. I have had food poisoning several times and I never needed any antibiotic but that doesn't apply for an 80 yr old person or an immune-compromised transplant patient.

I buy meats now (if I eat meat--which is rare) where there is no antibiotic used, due to allergies. And I wonder if that is why I HAVE allergies because I haven't used Doxycyline ever, and when I had Lyme last summer, I got a terrible reaction to it. Because I'd eaten poultry treated with it over the years?

[newziesuzie]

On 4/4/2015 hckynut said: I ain't buying it. I keep hearing "over use of antibiotics", but seems like a majority when sick, what do they want from their doctors? Way too many do the:copy/paste of pages and pages of medical and scientific explanations, and I have a feeling there are many here, like myself, that understand little of what is: COPY/PASTE.

You "don't buy" the facts of over use of antibiotics and resulting life threatening antibiotic resistant bacteria? It's real, it's not a matter of belief. As for cut and paste that's how we share news and info.

[newziesuzie]

On 4/4/2015 betteb said:

It might be a new strain of Shigella, but Shigella is not new to the US. I had it 35 years ago and I've never been out of the US. It was not fun

Yes it's a new strain.

[hckynut]

Hey Suzie! Last I heard you aren' force fed any antibiotic, so!!! If you don't want 'em, don't take 'em. Sounds simple enough to me. At this point in my life I am knowledgable enough to research/fact check COPY/PASTES, and make my own decisions on what goes into my mouth/ arm via injection, or my blood stream via IV. Wome want to believe everything someone researches? That is up to them.

E.T.A. How many words did you have to look up in the COPY/PASTE in Post #3?

[millieshops]

Yes, we probably use more antibiotics than are absolutely necessary, but, the other side of the story is that those same antibiotics are one of the top few reasons why our life span as increased so much over the past 50-60 years,

All kinds of things that are helpful/ pleasurable/etc. have their own risks. I've definitely benefitted from the various medical advances that have occurred in my life; I've already outlived in years plenty of my relatives, so even though I know there are risks, I'm not panicking. Hysteria is also life-shortening - imo.

[Gooday]

On 4/5/2015 Campion said:

No, shigella isn't new, but resistant shigella is--meaning if some old person gets food contaminated by dirty hands, and they need antibiotics to help fight it because they are old and the infection is hurting them, they could get very ill and the antibiotic is useless.

Most people don't need anything after a shigella infection, but some people who are immune compromised need help, and resistant bugs can kill them.

Must.Wash.Hands.

THANK YOU! My 86 year old dad and his brother live in an Senior Independent Living Facility. Approximately 3 weeks ago, many of the people came down with this. They have a communal dining room for their evening meals. There is also a deli on site. They closed down both, canceled Bingo and all activities. They had pre-packaged meals delivered to their rooms and told that if at all possible to stay in their apartments. This lasted for 9 days and then the dining room/deli reopened. However, the activities did not until 2 weeks later.

A week ago, my uncle was so ill, he had to go to the E.R. and while there, my cousin and uncle were told by the doctor that he was the 3rd person in the E.R. in 2 days. He was given IV fluids and I'm not sure what else.

SOMETHING really bad is going around and many seniors are getting the brunt of it.

I told my dad to wash, wash, wash his hands and he said that he was. I also told him to try and use his elbows to push the elevator buttons or turn door knobs.

[Amazinggrace2]

It's difficult to control and contain bacterial outbreaks and the elder population has considerable risk factors due to (often) compromised immune systems.

As a former long time public school teacher, I saw very young children (K-1) become quite ill as well. There is the perception that children are resilient, but this is not always the case. In recent years we've seen school epidemics across the nation, as we're having a challenging task to address resilient bacterial infections. Some schools have actually closed down for a week to have the buildings professionally cleaned during an outbreak.

It is absolutely true that we are experiencing the fallout from meats and poultry sources given antibiotics; and equally true that the medical community has been reaching for more powerful antibiotics to treat even common infections (ear infections, for example).

The solutions are complex. There are myriad prophylactic/preventative actions we can take against illness, but it's the treatment challenges that cause alarm.

New strains are the insidious result of bacteria's uncanny ability to recreate itself to survive.

Spoiler alert--this is a bit gross---

A good analogy is the insect extermination industry's constant battle to develop new toxins as insects develop immunities over time. And yes, the argument surrounding these toxins are another whole thread!

[febe1]

Not only to travelers. Read your labels. The FDA has stopped imported fish from China. There have been carcigenics found in their farmed fish. Also, don't buy Star Kist from China or Hormel hams from their. Foods that you take for granted are produced in USA, are many times from China and other countries. 62% of our fish comes from foreign countries.. When you buy fresh fish, you really don't know what you're getting.

[chrystaltree]

....It's a holiday, take a day off. You can go back to scaremongering tomorrow.