The Daily Orange

Media Credit: Rob Fay

One of Meredith Anderson's worst fears isn't a conventional college student worry, like passing a class or getting a job.

It's getting sick - and the resulting consequences.

"I'm way too busy to get sick," Anderson, a freshman nutrition and hospitality management major, said. "So anytime I feel like I might, I use Purell or something all the time. I'm constantly taking vitamins or drinking orange juice so I don't get sick."

Even though Anderson and many others seek out these preventative measures to avoid illness, they may not be the most effective methods.

Despite the current age of antibiotics, vaccines and bacteria-killing cleaning products, these supposed preventative measures may actually be a detriment to one's health rather than a help.

The over-prescription of antibiotics due to society's preoccupation with staying clean and healthy is leading to the creation of "superbugs," or germs resistant to medicines that destroyed the same bacteria just a few years ago.

A recent study conducted at University Hospital Basel in Switzerland showed despite public awareness of antibiotic over-prescription, doctors are still prescribing antibiotics for ailments like the common cold or other simple viruses.

But the general public is becoming more aware of the consequences of taking too many antibiotics and is questioning what kind of medicine they are being given.

"We've seen increased number of students, although small, that are hesitant to take antibiotics," said James Jacobs, director of Syracuse University's Health Services. "They really do want it to be an evidence-based decision because they are knowledgeable and fearful of the consequences of over-prescribing."

Jacobs added many factors go into the decision to prescribe antibiotics, like symptoms, prescriber and if the patient will be able to receive follow-up care.

Even with more public awareness about antibiotic abuse, it is still a major contribution to drug-resistant viruses and bacteria.

"I think the over-prescribing of antibiotics and people not following the regiment of antibiotics that they're supposed to has, over time, contributed to antibiotic resistance," said Allison Aiello, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan, who has done studies on antibacterial products and their contribution to germ resistance.

Though antibiotics misuse are a big reason behind the creation of superbugs, there is another, more innocent culprit that could be behind drug resistance - antibacterial soaps and handwashes.

Continued...

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