Although people are told that antibiotics don’t help fight colds (what’s that saying? If you don’t treat a cold, it will last 7 days, if you treat it, it’ll only last a week), many still insist that antibiotics will help them feel better. While doctors shouldn’t prescribe them for illnesses caused by viruses, some still do because it may be easier than arguing or trying to educate some more. They may feel they’re helping their patients and the patients may think they get better faster, but what is really happening is that both are contributing to the ever-increasing problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that are developing.

The latest issue of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) has the results of a large trial done in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, where researchers found that family doctors or general practitioners who had received advanced training in communication skills and who used a simple blood test prescribed fewer antibiotics for these types of lower respiratory tract infections.

According to a press release issued by Cardiff University ,

“The results showed that 54% of GPs practising according to usual care prescribed antibiotics, whereas 27% of those who had been trained in the advanced communication and 31% of the GPs who used the blood test methods did so. Only 23% of GPs who were trained in the advanced communication skills and who used the blood test prescribed antibiotics.”

We know that doctors are busy and, as the population in North America ages, they’re going to be busier. But, sometimes taking the time to really understand the issue and to talk to the patients could end up saving more time in the long run.

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Images: iStock, MorgueFile, Newscom.com

Post from: Blisstree

Fewer Antibiotics? Try Communication First

… he has identified how two different kinds of Chlamydia can cause both coronary artery disease and miscarriages. Solving one mystery gave him clues that he needed to figure out the other. By focusing on the immune system mechanisms in Chlamydia infections, Azenabor has identified an important link in seemingly unrelated health problems. The result could be new treatments and prevention strategies for both heart disease and infertility. Chlamydia pneumoniae is a microbe that normally causes pneumonia and bronchitis, but it has long been associated with atherosclerosis, a cardiovascular disease also called “hardening of the arteries.”

Huh? Chlamydia? Yes, when the macrophages’ cell walls are infected with the C. pneumoniae their usually tight cholesterol, which they regularly store, traffics that cholesterol into the cell membrane’s and cause them to become rigid and unable to move…

The bacteria also “hijacks” the cells signaling in a way that helps promote the existence of the Chlamydia pneumoniae. The bacterium also disturbs the macrophage’s production of toxins in a process that transforms them into “signaling molecules,” which support functions that keep the bacterium alive. Because of this the bacteria can very quickly reproduce and accumulate in the blood vessels causing stiffening and heart disease, ie. atherosclerosis.

Find this interesting? Hey- your not alone! Check out more here.

Post from: Blisstree

Chlamydia and heart disease…

… he has identified how two different kinds of Chlamydia can cause both coronary artery disease and miscarriages. Solving one mystery gave him clues that he needed to figure out the other. By focusing on the immune system mechanisms in Chlamydia infections, Azenabor has identified an important link in seemingly unrelated health problems. The result could be new treatments and prevention strategies for both heart disease and infertility. Chlamydia pneumoniae is a microbe that normally causes pneumonia and bronchitis, but it has long been associated with atherosclerosis, a cardiovascular disease also called “hardening of the arteries.”

Huh? Chlamydia? Yes, when the macrophages’ cell walls are infected with the C. pneumoniae their usually tight cholesterol, which they regularly store, traffics that cholesterol into the cell membrane’s and cause them to become rigid and unable to move…

The bacteria also “hijacks” the cells signaling in a way that helps promote the existence of the Chlamydia pneumoniae. The bacterium also disturbs the macrophage’s production of toxins in a process that transforms them into “signaling molecules,” which support functions that keep the bacterium alive. Because of this the bacteria can very quickly reproduce and accumulate in the blood vessels causing stiffening and heart disease, ie. atherosclerosis.

Find this interesting? Hey- your not alone! Check out more here.

Post from: Blisstree

Chlamydia Pneumoniae Involved In Heart Disease