Please don't take the title literally....this is in no way a dirty post. Just a huge warning to anyone going to hospital or any hypochondriacs who think they are always ill....be afraid, be very afraid.
Ok, I'm not freaking out, it's just we had a top physician from Uppsala hospital come lecture us about ESBL's (extended spectrum beta-lactamases) today and without going in to biology talk, it appears we have a pretty bleak future ahead.
Well in England, we've all heard of MRSA (to Swedes it has only really begun to exist) and now probably Clostridium difficile. What do they have in common? Well basically we have a very limited defense against these lovely bacteria. Im not going to bore you with details of antibiotic resistance and what not, just understand that it exists, is getting worse and alternative strategies are a long way down the pipe-line.
When a top medical doctor tells you there is no treatment for extremely common infectious bacteria (found in hospitals) and says it in a way that makes herself almost depressed, you know you have a problem.
In a non condescending way, if you don't know, bacteria are very clever bastards, who can basically transfer DNA between each other, meaning they can effectively 'steal' things, e.g. antibiotic resistance.
Picture throwing all your antibiotics (your whole arsenal) at these little bugs, in the process wiping out the resident ones (you know the apparent 'good ones' adverts like actimel claim....again, please don't listen to them....any joghurt, dairy type product works just as well, if not better). You effectively increase the chances of another infectious horrible little creature coming in and invading....taking the place/space of the 'good' bacteria.
Ok, all clear? Now picture the 'good bacteria' nearly all dying off, except may be a few. Now in order to survive they probably have some resistance mechanism...something/way to get rid of the antibiotic/drug.
As these little blighters can pass on their DNA as I said before, now picture our 'good' bacteria sitting next to a horrible infectious one....guess what they are going to share/swap? Yep...that lovely mechanism to stop the antibiotic working.....ok, you might have figured this out long ago.
In a morbid kind of way, this real time evolution is quite amazing.....an ESBL positive Klebsiella strain can literally become resistance to an antibiotic (well actually potentially ALL of them) in 3 days!!! Imagine going in to hospital on a Monday, on antibiotics, then by Wednesday the Dr. turning round and saying, well sorry we have nothing else we can treat you with because the little bastards have become resistant. Then, the day after, you drop down dead.
I mean whatever your thoughts on evolution are (if any), these things can happen over a course of hours....we've all seen Jurassic Park etc and know it took man etc some millions upon millions of years to 'evolve'....again go to England and check out the regular folk- you might think we are a few million years behind still.
My point? Erm.....not sure really. It's all interesting stuff and the mechanisms behind it are complex and fascinating. It's a scary thought that going in to a hospital could be the end.....joking aside, that's pretty harsh news.
I apologize for the morbidness (is that a word?) of this post: so I'll end on a high note- when you get to around 60 and need a new hip, DON"T go to hospital: the answer you ask? Get a few bottles of alcohol (no not to drink, to sterilize!), wipe down the kitchen table, get a sharp Ikea knife, a decent sewing kit, a pair of gloves, a steady hand, a thermos flask (for the replacement part), a copy of Take That's 'things can only get better' and hope for the best......
Ok, I'm not freaking out, it's just we had a top physician from Uppsala hospital come lecture us about ESBL's (extended spectrum beta-lactamases) today and without going in to biology talk, it appears we have a pretty bleak future ahead.
Well in England, we've all heard of MRSA (to Swedes it has only really begun to exist) and now probably Clostridium difficile. What do they have in common? Well basically we have a very limited defense against these lovely bacteria. Im not going to bore you with details of antibiotic resistance and what not, just understand that it exists, is getting worse and alternative strategies are a long way down the pipe-line.
When a top medical doctor tells you there is no treatment for extremely common infectious bacteria (found in hospitals) and says it in a way that makes herself almost depressed, you know you have a problem.
In a non condescending way, if you don't know, bacteria are very clever bastards, who can basically transfer DNA between each other, meaning they can effectively 'steal' things, e.g. antibiotic resistance.
Picture throwing all your antibiotics (your whole arsenal) at these little bugs, in the process wiping out the resident ones (you know the apparent 'good ones' adverts like actimel claim....again, please don't listen to them....any joghurt, dairy type product works just as well, if not better). You effectively increase the chances of another infectious horrible little creature coming in and invading....taking the place/space of the 'good' bacteria.
Ok, all clear? Now picture the 'good bacteria' nearly all dying off, except may be a few. Now in order to survive they probably have some resistance mechanism...something/way to get rid of the antibiotic/drug.
As these little blighters can pass on their DNA as I said before, now picture our 'good' bacteria sitting next to a horrible infectious one....guess what they are going to share/swap? Yep...that lovely mechanism to stop the antibiotic working.....ok, you might have figured this out long ago.
In a morbid kind of way, this real time evolution is quite amazing.....an ESBL positive Klebsiella strain can literally become resistance to an antibiotic (well actually potentially ALL of them) in 3 days!!! Imagine going in to hospital on a Monday, on antibiotics, then by Wednesday the Dr. turning round and saying, well sorry we have nothing else we can treat you with because the little bastards have become resistant. Then, the day after, you drop down dead.
I mean whatever your thoughts on evolution are (if any), these things can happen over a course of hours....we've all seen Jurassic Park etc and know it took man etc some millions upon millions of years to 'evolve'....again go to England and check out the regular folk- you might think we are a few million years behind still.
My point? Erm.....not sure really. It's all interesting stuff and the mechanisms behind it are complex and fascinating. It's a scary thought that going in to a hospital could be the end.....joking aside, that's pretty harsh news.
I apologize for the morbidness (is that a word?) of this post: so I'll end on a high note- when you get to around 60 and need a new hip, DON"T go to hospital: the answer you ask? Get a few bottles of alcohol (no not to drink, to sterilize!), wipe down the kitchen table, get a sharp Ikea knife, a decent sewing kit, a pair of gloves, a steady hand, a thermos flask (for the replacement part), a copy of Take That's 'things can only get better' and hope for the best......
