| Antibiotics
Warning: ANTIBIOTIC Use May Not be in Your Health's Best
Interest
According to "The Nation's Newspaper," The USA Today,
September 21, 2000, "Antibiotics may soon bear an official
warning that overusing them is wearing them out. Infectious
disease experts have long warned that antibiotics are being
overused--too often prescribed for viruses like colds that
the drugs simply cannot treat, for example. And they're
often used improperly, such as when patients don't take all
the prescribed doses, making left over germs more resistant
to any future treatment. Hoping to fight that trend, the
Food and Drug Administration has proposed placing special
warnings on virtually all antibiotic labels reminding
doctors to prescribe them only when truly necessary,
and explaining when that is. The label would include tips
for doctors to use in counseling patients about proper
antibiotic use. The FDA will consider mandating the labels
after a 75-day public comment period."
Risk Factors for Allergy
The above is the title of an article by L.F.A. De Swert in
the European Journal of Pediatrics (1999) 158:89-94.
De Swert examined the host factors involved in the risk for
allergy including heredity, sex, race and age and
environmental factors such as exposure to allergens, passive
smoking, pollution and infections.
De Swert identified heredity as the most important host
factor associated with allergy and exposure to allergens as
the most significant environmental factor associated with
allergy development.
In a concluding statement, De Swert noted, "microbial
stimulation in early life, by infectious agents and by the
commensal microbial flora of the gastrointestinal tract, may
play a role in the protection against atopy by preferential
stimulation of a Th1 response, with mutual exclusion of a
Th2 response. It may be hypothesized that the decreased
impact of infection through social changes and preventive
measures may contribute to the rise of atopic disease in
industrial countries.
Translation: The use of antibiotics and vaccinations
is preventing children from dealing with routine infections
thereby preventing the shift from Th2 emphasis to Th1 and
the children develop allergies, including asthma at a much
higher rate and with greater sensitivity.
|
RISK IN PERSPECTIVE |
RISK |
EVENT |
BASIS & REFERENCE |
| 30% |
Incidence of adverse drug event in hospitalized
patients. |
Anderson, 1992 |
| 10% |
Incidence of psychosis due to corticosteroid
therapy. |
Havey, 1984 |
| 7-10% |
Incidence of hepatitis due to blood transfusion. |
Stehling, 1986 |
| 6.1% |
Incidence of infection in postoperative orthopedic
patients. |
Fernandez et al., 1992 |
| 3.76% |
Incidence of nosocomial infection in hospitalized
patients in the U.S.A C.D.C., 1991 |
|
| 1-2% |
Incidence of paralysis due to neurosurgery of the
cervical spine. |
Rocha vs. Harris, 1987 |
| 0.7% |
Incidence of esophageal perforation during anterior
approach cervical spine surgery. |
Van Berge Henegouwan et al., 1991 |
| 0.3-0.9% |
Incidence of death due to cervical spine surgery. |
Graham, 1989 |
| 0.057% |
Incidence of seizure due to D.P.T. Vaccine. |
C. D. C., 1994 |
| 0.012% |
Incidence of breast cancer due to mammography. |
Bushong, 1984 |
| 0.005-0.015% |
Incidence of death from radiation-induced malignancy
due to X-ray exposure of 1-RAD. |
Bushong, 1984 |
| 0.0025-0.01% |
Incidence of death due to radiocontrast media. |
Atkinson & Kaliner, 1992 |
| 0.0008-0.001% |
Incidence of death due to allergic reaction to
anesthetic agents. |
Anderson, 1992 |
| 0.00002-0.00008% |
Incidence of death due to lightning in the U.S.A. |
Eriksson & Ornehult 1988 |
| 0.00001-0.00003% |
Incidence of serious neural complications due to
cervical manipulation. |
Cyriax, 1978, & Gutman, 1983 |
As you can see, the risk of injury as a
result of chiropractic adjustments is extremely low for
adults and even smaller for the pediatric patient. With
only one questionable report of injury to a child
following chiropractic care in 31 years of medical
literature, potential risk is so low it can not be
accurately estimated.
All References on File |
Sunday, March 11, 2001,
12:00 a.m. Pacific
Clearing up confusion over sinus infections
by Bob Condor
Chicago Tribune
Nasal drip is as much a part of winter as cold temperatures.
There is little we can change about the latter, and, as it
turns out, less we should do about the former in most cases.
It is estimated 40 to 50 percent of people with
sinusitis, or sinus inflammation, will recover in 10 days
with or without antibiotic drugs. said Dr. Itzhak Brook,
an infectious-diseases specialist at Georgetown University
School of Medicine in Washington, D.C.
"Antibiotics are overprescribed for sinus problemsEe
have to educate both doctors and patients to not jump to
antibiotics right away."
Brook is doing his part. He is the lead author of a revised
set of guidelines for sinusitis treatment published last May
in Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology. Brook and
colleagues recommended that physicians prescribe an
antibiotic only when a patient has experienced symptoms for
at least seven days.
Here's why: Sinusitis typically begins as inflammation and
infection of the sinus lining caused by a common cold virus.
About 98 percent of those cases will clear on their own,
albeit with more drainage than most of us want to observe
in, say, an office setting. If you take antibiotics for a
viral sinusitis, you are only putting yourself at risk for
developing antibiotic resistance. The other 2 percent,
Brook explained, will develop into bacterial sinusitis
because bacteria get trapped in the clogged sinuses. A sign
of bacterial infection is if your cold gets worse instead of
better starting about the fifth day and especially after a
week to 10 days, according to Brook. Indicators of a sinus
infection, called acute sinusitis, include color in the
mucus, sinus pain and general fatigue. People with chronic
sinus infections might never heal completely; they tend to
develop symptoms in a few days. High fever and intense pain
are symptoms that demand earlier attention from your
physician.
'Sinus Survival'
Robert Ivker, a Colorado-based osteopathic physician and
author of "Sinus Survival: The Holistic Medical Treatment
for Allergies, Colds and Sinusitis" (Tarcher/Putnam,
$13.95), is a pioneer on the subject of not overusing
antibiotics for sinus troubles. His book, in a fourth
edition, first was published in 1988. Within the past year,
he has been asked to make first-ever presentations about
alternative medical therapies at annual meetings of such
mainstream medical organizations as the American Academy of
Otolaryngology and the American College of Allergy, Asthma
and Immunology. His talks were standing-room only.
"The program focuses on healing the mucus membranes," Ivker
said. "I ask patients to try 'Sinus Survival' for two
months. The other objective is to strengthen the immune
system. That takes time, too."
Ivker explained that people with sinus problems need to
examine the air they breathe. The biggest culprit is the
quality of indoor air. He suggests using negative ion
generators and HEPA (high-efficiency particulate arrestor)
air cleaners in homes and offices. He also favors warm-mist
humidifiers.
Foods to watch out for
Ivker champions the link between diet and sinus problems,
suggesting that patients avoid milk and other dairy products
for two months. For more severe cases, he might add
sugar, bread and alcohol to the off-limits list. Most
people can reintroduce forbidden foods, he added, once they
are healed. These subtractions are based on making the sinus
lining a more difficult breeding ground for bacteria and
fungi, Ivker said. In fact, researchers at the Mayo Clinic
have speculated that fungus might be a primary agitator for
sinus sufferers. One Mayo study of 210 sinus sufferers
showed an antifungal spray helped three-quarters of them
become symptom-free after several months. The work is
preliminary, but follow-up studies could mean an antifungal
spray would be available to the public in the next three to
five years.
Ivker highly recommends "water irrigation," or rinsing the
sinuses with water. Techniques include a narrow-spouted Neti
Pot filled with saline solution that can be tipped to wash
out the nostrils and a device that attaches to Water Pik
appliances. Portable steam inhalers are another good option
and safer than creating your own steam tent over a boiling
pot of water.
Avoiding surgery
Interestingly, a group of physicians at
Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago are
using a form of nasal irrigation to help chronic-sinusitis
patients avoid surgery, an alternative that still seems too
widely recommended. Sinus surgery is typically performed to
drain the sinuses of accumulated secretions or, in some
cases, to enlarge the sinus cavities. The irrigation
technique, called chemical cautery, is loosely based on
nasal rinsing that doctors used during the early 1900s.
"The treatment has prevented a large number of my patients
from having surgery," said Dr. Neal Lofchy, a physician at
the Rush-affiliated Midwest Sinus Center.
The chemical cautery process begins with a topical numbing
of the nostrils. Next the physician uses a fiber-optic
instrument to view the inside of the nose and sinus cavities
for swollen tissue and potential polyps. Then the physician
uses a series of mist sprays to treat the sinuses, allowing
the patient to drain the sinuses after each spraying. The
spray doing the main work is a diluted phenol solution, much
weaker but nonetheless the same one used in chemical skin
peels. The idea is to strip off the "mast cells" on the
sinus lining surface that cause the inflammation.
The treatment can be repeated in later incidences.
Draining is good
Many people have the wrong idea about nasal drip, said
Lofchy, who also recommends the Neti Pot and steam inhalers.
They might use over-the-counter antihistamines to stop runny
noses, making matters worse.
Some doctors prescribe decongestants, which should be used
only three or four days to help reduce inflammation. Using
them longer will disrupt the outflow from the sinuses.
"Draining is good," Lofchy said. "It is the body's way to
get rid of the infection." On the longer view, Ivker said,
good health habits are key to avoiding sinus problems. For
instance, regular exercise acts to boost the immune system.
Ivker recommends that people find aerobic activities that
fit their lifestyles to hold off any recurrences of
sinusitis.
Wednesday, March 07, 2001, 12:00 a.m.
Pacific
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