antibiotic resistance

• some bacteria are resistant to antibiotics, which reduces the effectiveness of antibiotics
• antibiotics become less effective due to:

  • overuse
  • incomplete courses (patients don't complete entire prescribed duration of antibiotics)
• if antibiotics are overused, it allows resistant bacteria to survive and reproduce - leading to the rise of an entire strain with antibiotic resistance
• common drug-resistant bacteria: MRSA
• to slow down development of antibiotic resistant bacteria, antibiotics should be:

  • used only when truly necessary
  • course of antibiotics given to patient should always be fully completed