This is a terribly important article. One of the things is doesn't talk about is another major cause of resistant bacteria: low levels of antibiotics being given to feed animals as a growth promoter. This is a huge money-maker for the pharmaceuticals industry, or I believe we could get this practice stopped in the US. In other countries where they've banned the use of antibiotics in food animals, the number of resistant bacteria has plummeted.

Solution to Killer Superbug Found in Norway - Sphere News (http://www.sphere.com/health/article/solution-to-killer-superbug-found-in-norway/19299601?icid=main|search2|dl1|link5|http%3A%2F%2F www.sphere.com%2Fhealth%2Farticle%2Fsolution-to-killer-superbug-found-in-norway%2F19299601)

OSLO, Norway (Dec. 30) -- Aker University Hospital is a dingy place to heal. The floors are streaked and scratched. A light layer of dust coats the blood pressure monitors. A faint stench of urine and bleach wafts from a pile of soiled bedsheets dropped in a corner.

Look closer, however, at a microscopic level, and this place is pristine. There is no sign of a dangerous and contagious staph infection that killed tens of thousands of patients in the most sophisticated hospitals of Europe, North America and Asia this year, soaring virtually unchecked. (click link to read remainder of article)

The reason: Norwegians stopped taking so many drugs.

Twenty-five years ago, Norwegians were also losing their lives to this bacteria. But Norway's public health system fought back with an aggressive program that made it the most infection-free country in the world. A key part of that program was cutting back severely on the use of antibiotics.

So I hope doing something about these awful infections catches on pretty more strong in this country.

In principle, I agree with the basics of this article. Reduce the use of antibiotics to situations where the patient really NEEDS the antibiotic. Doctors shoudl stop prescribing them for every cough and sneeze people get. Let people's bodies heal themselves.

In principle, I agree with the basics of this article. Reduce the use of antibiotics to situations where the patient really NEEDS the antibiotic. Doctors shoudl stop prescribing them for every cough and sneeze people get. Let people's bodies heal themselves.

Part of the problem is that people demand them from their doctors. Doctors should be spending their time explaining to people that most coughs and colds are caused by viruses, which aren't treated by antibiotics. Even sore throats in adults rarely need to be treated. Strep throat is treated to prevent rheumatic fever in kids, but adults don't get it. Most of us would get over a strep throat on our own, without treatment, and by healing ourselves we would develop antibodies to the infection that would make us less likely to get another strep infection. Doctors worry about losing patients if they won't hand out antibiotics, plus it takes time to explain all of the above, and they've got an office full of people waiting. People could save themselves time and money by not going to the doctor if they've got a cough, cold or sore throat, and could help us put a halt to resistant bacteria.

In addition, we really need to lobby our government to stop allowing cattle farmers to use low dose antibiotics as growth promoters. Resistance is serious business, and there's data showing that increasing the amount of feed given to animals works just as well as antibiotics and doesn't cost any more.

I'm sure that means someone other then the patient wouldnt be involved with their care fully.
I mean the customer(patient) is always right.