Antibiotic resistance has become an increasingly pertinent issue in the medical world. While one way of becoming antibiotic resistant for bacteria is undergoing random mutations that make them resistant, a major cause of the rising number of antibiotic resistant organisms today are misuse of antibiotics. People can either take antibiotics for something that they don’t do anything against (like a viral infection) or they don’t take the antibiotics like they’re prescribed. One way to misuse the prescription is to stop taking it once you feel better as opposed to the length of time prescribed. Another name for antibiotic resistant bacteria is superbugs.
If we lose the ability to use antibiotics, then we will become more susceptible to infections that we are easily cured by today. We wouldn’t be able to treat the infections and it could lead to more sever infections and even death. For example, Staphylococcus aureus is not very fatal today, but could be a very dangerous infection if we were unable to use antibiotics effectively. Antibiotics are also being used in the farm animal industry. Antibiotics are given to farm animals to help them grow bigger and fatter so they can provide more meat and therefore produce more money for the farmer. Meat is only considered antibiotic free when no antibiotics can be detected at the time of sale, not if there were none used throughout the life of the animal. Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae has become an urgent threat in drug resistance and much like the rest of the Enterobacteriaceae family has gained resistance to almost all antibiotics and are becoming more difficult to treat.
This antibiotic resistance is changing our world as we know it. For as long as we can remember we have been able to use antibiotics to fight off a multitude of infections, and all of that will soon be gone. I believe people should not use antibiotics unless they are necessary. If the antibiotics would only weaken the symptoms but are not necessary for treatment, then they shouldn’t be used. Farm animals should stop being fed antibiotics because it only contributes to the resistance of organisms and it hurts us more than it helps us. So while it may seem in the moment like it’s a good idea to take antibiotics, we should stop and think if we really need them before we don’t have an option anymore.
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