Watching Oprah a while back – I was shocked to hear the story of Kristen Hunter who passed away after contracting MRSA. At one point in the story – as told on Oprah – what concerned me was that she was treated with antibiotics for what the doctors suspected was a virus. Am I accurate in the understanding that an antibiotic will not help a virus? Why are they still being prescribed in these situations?
Dr. Oz went through a detailed graphic on what the MRSA looks like, and how it is different from the other Staph strains, he said that giving the incorrect antibiotic will kill off the other strains and leave the MRSA virus to thrive rampantly. It wasn’t stated, but I couldn’t help but wonder if the incorrect antibiotic could actually create a more favorable environment for this Super Bug.
There is a now a test for MRSA widely available, so it can be quickly and accurately diagnosed.
We are blessed to have wonderful medicine and treatments available to us, but they should not be used without careful consideration or we will find our country facing more and more of these strains that will be deadly because we don’t have anything left to kill them.
The good news for MRSA is that we can treat it when accurately diagnosed.
For more information on MRSA, how to recognize it, and how to prevent it look at:
www.stopmrsanow.org/facts.html
When to seek medical advice:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/DS00735/DSECTION=when%2Dto%2Dseek%2Dmedical%2Dadvice
My thoughts and prayers are with Kirsen Hunter’s family, for more about their tragic story:
www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090423-tows-mrsa/8
www.wkrn.com/Global/story.asp?S=10056399
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You’re so right- and this isn’t an isolated case. Doctors seem to prescribe antibiotics like candy, even with knowledge that a lot of illnesses are caused by viruses and not bacteria. It’s very frustrating, especially when there are tests that should be run before anything is prescribed. The best thing to do is be informed and proactive about your health and take an active role in medical intervention when possible as opposed to just taking whatever the doctor gives you and hoping you are better.
I respect medicine and am amazed at how things can be cured by medicine- but I’ve learned not to trust doctors and what they prescribe, especially when they don’t run the proper tests to determine what is wrong with you.