For life

World Antibiotic Awareness Week

Did you know that it was World Antibiotic Awareness Week from the 18.11.2021 to the 24.11.2021?

Did you realise that infectious diseases used to kill more people, young and old, than hunger and war before antibiotics were available?

In 1929 Dr. Alexander Fleming discovered that bacteria and other microbes stopped growing and thriving where a mold had contaminated one of his peri dishes. After investigating further,  he found that the microbes not only stopped thriving and growing, on the contrary, they died due to a substance that was produced by the mold, Penicillinum notatum, which had contaminated his peri dish. Fleming called the substance "Penicillin" after the mold. At the time this discovery had no consequences, it was tested and found to work, but there was no possibility to grow enough to use it as a medical treatment. Nevertheless, Fleming published his findings in the medical press.

It was during the 1930s when scientists were on the hunt for effective treatment for infectious diseases. The basic research was done to find the organisms which caused the diseases but there was still no treatment available to kill them off effectively  in humans. That changed when a German scientist, Gerhard Domagk tested a series of dyes in 1935 and found that one was able to kill various pathogens. This led to the development of Prontosil and a drug group called the "Sulphanomide". 

I can remember my mother telling me about Prontosil which she was treated with as a child when she had been in hospital with scarlet fever. This was during the 2ndWorld War. She was in the infectious ward for 6 weeks without any contact from family or friends other than a wave through a glass pane, while the bombs were falling around them. She told me about a pudding which fell off the table during an daytime air raid while the children and nurses were in the cellar. She also told me that she started to pee red urine after taking the Prontosil. I may add that she was highly allergic to any medication with ingredients containing the syllable "Sulph" in their name for the rest of her life. This was quite a serious allergy where she would wander around destroying her furniture after taking Sulphonamide and would not remember why her furniture was broken or why she looked beaten up afterwards. My mother was living alone at the time so that must have been quite a frightening experience. 

Anyway, the Sulphonamide had only a limited range and more research was needed to find a more effective medication. This was the time when Howard Florey and Ernst Chain read about Flemings discovery during their search. In the end they managed to produce "Penicillin" in high quantities and so laid the foundation for modern antibiotics with more than 100 products nowadays to treat all sorts of infectious diseases. As you can imagine, this was a great blessing for all the wounded soldiers  during the 2ndWorld War. In 1945 Fleming, Florey and Chain  got the Nobel prize of medicine for their efforts. A lot more people got their life because of their work. Without a doubt, Antibiotics saved a lot of lives and took the fear out of pneumonia, sepsis and cystitis. 

As for all things, there is always another side of the story. Antibiotics have a lot of side effects and they are "anti biotic", which means against life. They basically kill everything, the bad bacteria and the good bacteria in your guts where you need them. This might not be a problem if you only take antibiotics when it is really necessary. Your gut will recolonize in time again. If you take them too often, your gut might not have a chance to do that, which means that your immune system will suffer which leads to more illness. This is a vicious cycle. The other problem is resistance, so that the antibiotics which used to help you might not work anymore. Modern antibiotics which have been developed to overcome this problem cause often severe allergic reactions and therefore have to be avoided. 

So where we are today?  The overuse of antibiotics has caused a lot of pathogens to develop and become resistant to all of the available drugs. It is quite shocking that there are superbugs around which would not react to any treatment. It is not just your fault for taking antibiotics for every sore throat you have. Antibiotics are used a lot in farming because they increase the appetite of livestock and shorten the time to fatten them up to sell them on. Additionally cattle get regularly fed antibiotics to prevent disease even before they are ill. This is in commercial farming but antibiotics are even allowed in organic farming when the animal is ill. I can understand the farmer wanting to increase his income, don't we all, or protect his livelihood, but this practice means that you might become resistant to 3 strains of bacteria with one steak.

What can we do about that? The important thing is to prevent disease in the first place and try to do our best to keep our immune system strong with a healthy life style. Homoeopathy can help to strengthen your immune system and ditch unhealthy habits. Furthermore it might help with minor ailments like sore throats and coughs and colds before they become severe. But please don't forget that Homoeopathy can only work if you get the right remedy for YOU. Homoeopathy is a very individual medicine which can only work if you get the stuff you need for your body and soul. Homoeopathy is tailored for your needs. So contact me on 07813 195468 to make that happen for you.   

It is important to stay healthy in autumn.