What Will A World Without Antibiotics Look Like?

It has known for some time that antibiotic-resistant bacteria exist, and can actually communicate their resistance to each other. The rate and transmission of the resistance is reaching new highs, however, and our antibiotic weapons in the fight against bacteria are becoming less and less effective. Some foresee a day when antibiotics will actually be completely ineffective.

One man says that they already are.

Dr. Arjun Srinivasan, an associate director at the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, paints a startling picture of modern medicine. He says, "We know that there’s a lot of overuse, of misuse of antibiotics, and what’s discouraging about that is it’s been an issue for a very long time." His entire interview, which is well worth your time, can be found here.

He says that it is time to take action, both in hospitals and in the community. He says:

So we’ve recommended ways to prevent the spread of these bacteria.

We’re also calling upon people and trying to educate people about how to improve the way that we use antibiotics in our hospitals and outside of our hospitals, because we know we have to approach resistant bacteria on two different fronts.

We have to prevent them from spreading when they develop, but we also have to take steps to stop them from developing in the first place, or at least slow down their development. And the best way to do that is to improve the way we use antibiotics.

Antibiotics are generally used to combat an infection. Infections occur when bacteria overwhelm the body's natural immune systems, both the physical immune system (like your skin) or the cellular immune system (like your immunoglobulin response).

Beyond using antibiotics better and more effectively, it is likely that public health officials will begin looking for ways to prevent infections in the first place. Most of these ways involve creating the strongest natural immunity possible for each individual, including washing and cleaning wounds immediately, proper dietary considerations, reducing stress, etc. Chiropractic care is considered a way to naturally help the neuroimmune system to function properly and reduce stress.

Antibiotics also should not be overused. Many doctors have begun adopting the practice of "watchful waiting" when it comes to relatively common conditions such as sinus or ear infections. Chiropractic care has also been suggested as a positive and non-invasive way to help the body resolve these types of infections.

As the world begins to move towards better husbandry of antibiotics and their use, I believe it will also look for better ways to promote healthy immune systems and prevent infection in the first place. I believe that chiropractic care will continue care have an essential role in health care of the future.