The Problem with Antibiotics, Covid-19 Update, Pregnancy Info

When the conversation turns to a health care crisis, the first thing that comes up is the coronavirus.  Prior to the pandemic, the most common hot health crisis topics discussed were the seasonal flu, ebola virus in Africa and how obesity is the leading cause of disease in the United States.  There is one health care crisis that is extremely important and is rarely discussed.  This one  involves the use of antibiotics.  Information that I have gathered this week from many sources is quite shocking.  Antibiotic resistance has turned into a worldwide health threat of massive proportions. Two million American adults and children are infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria each year; 23,000 die as a direct result. Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) kills more Americans each year than the combined total of emphysema, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson’s disease, and homicide.  Solutions include improved infection prevention, more responsible use of antibiotics in human medicine (antibiotics do not treat viruses like upper respiratory infections, but are typically prescribed), limiting use of antibiotics in agriculture (our livestock is treated with antibiotics in their feed, preventatively), and finding innovative approaches to treat infections.  As a population, we have to stop taking antibiotics needlessly for every illness.  Question your doctor if it’s use is necessary.  One time, I was told that my symptomless child had an ear infection (redness was observed in the ear).  The doctor started to write an antibiotic prescription.  I told the doctor, “No thank you, we will wait and see.”  He replied that my decision was probably wise as 85% of ear infections resolve on their own and he only writes them because parents are not happy unless they leave with a prescription.  This is crazy stuff.  It is time for all of us, doctors and patients to take responsibility for this problem and stop the insanity.  

Thought for the Week:  Half the modern drugs could well be thrown out the window, except that the birds might eat them.  ~Martin H. Fischer 

Chiropractic Thought for the Week:  Chiropractic Spinal adjustments are in some ways akin to receiving a flu shot or taking vitamins with antiviral properties and may one day be considered by health care professions to be a preventative treatment for seasonal illness.  Not that the chiropractic spinal adjustment is a treatment for colds or flu, it is not, but they are a way of enhancing immune system function.  Research shows that spinal adjustments improve the rate at which DNA repairs itself, which is an important marker in immune system function.  Thoracic spinal adjustments that stimulate neural impulses to the spleen will cause an increase in white blood cell production.  White blood cells are the body’s infection fighting cells.  And lastly, patients under regular chiropractic care with monthly spinal adjustments have shown enlarged markers for resistance enzymes.  Resistance enzymes help to keep you healthy.  These are all important values for immune system function and greater health.

Covid-19 Update:  In my last article on the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, I presented facts concerning the virus to help alleviate the fear that was building with the constant news reporting of increased cases and the strain on the health care system.  2 weeks later it is now being reported that the Omicron variant is 55% less severe than the delta variant and while cases are increasing, actual hospitalizations and deaths are decreasing.  As I mentioned in my article, the reason for increased cases is increased testing.  Everyone with a sniffle is getting a covid-19 test.  According to Dr. James Phillips, chief of disaster medicine at George Washington University Hospital, “What we're experiencing right now is an absolute overwhelming of the emergency departments throughout Washington, DC,” Phillips told CNN.  The emergency departments, he said, are flooded with mostly mildly symptomatic patients who are there to get tested. “It's part of that shortfall of national testing that's occurring, and it's all falling on the emergency department,” Phillips said.  Typical Omicron symptoms are a runny nose, sore throat, headache, low grade fever and possible body aches. These are the same symptoms listed on the box that contains Nyquil. The average length of the illness is 3-4 days.  My 84 year old father, had these symptoms, tested positive for Covid-19 and reported it was like having a cold.  In 4 days, he was basically asymptomatic.  The Omicron variant tends to attack and stay in the upper respiratory system (nose, throat) while the original covid-19 and Delta variant moved into the lungs.  This is why this variant is less lethal and also why it spreads faster.  In South Africa, the Omicron variant was reported on in Mid- November and cases peaked by Mid-December and since then cases have rapidly declined.  SARS-COV-2 is one of seven viruses in the coronavirus family. Four other viruses in the coronavirus family are known to cause the common cold.  According to Dr. Tetsuo Nakayama, a project professor at Kitasato Institute for Life Sciences and the director of the Japanese Society of Clinical Virology, “As the virus increases its infectiousness, it naturally attenuates over time” Becoming weaker.  “Someday, the novel coronavirus will perhaps cause only a common cold, or it may disappear altogether like SARS, though Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) continues to live, albeit sporadically,” he added, referring to another known coronavirus.  According to some experts, though omicron is contributing to a record wave of infections,  the Omicron variant could bring about a sudden end to the pandemic as early as 2022, just like SARS vanished without a trace in two years.  “I think there’s a chance of that,” said Dr. Masahiko Okada, professor emeritus at Niigata University in Japan. “Spanish flu cases also plummeted in its third year a century ago.” 

Pregnancy / Prenatal Chiropractic Care Info:  Researchers have found that use of hair products during pregnancy can alter hormone levels in the pregnant mother-to-be.  Using hair dye, hair bleach, hair relaxers and mouse can contribute to adverse pregnancy outcomes such as low birth weight, pre=term birth and  growth restriction.  In addition, the study sites a possible link to cancer. 

Author

Dr J. Zimmerman, Chiropractor Dr. Zimmerman is a practicing chiropractor from Galloway, NJ with 30 years of chiropractic practice.