The alarm was sounded this past September by officials at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Washington D.C.) Tens of millions of antibiotic doses are prescribed for diseases they can’t cure. As a result, a major health problem threatens unless doctors STOP over-prescribing antibiotics. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): The problem is that almost every species of bacteria has become resistant to antibiotics. Even powerful antibiotics have become less effective. The rate of resistance to penicillin increased by more than 300% over the last 5 years. The problem has advanced far enough for the CDC to tell doctors that Vancomycin is the only remaining antibiotic effective against pneumococci (bacteria that causes pneumonia).

Doctors have been over-prescribing antibiotics in response to time pressures, demanding patients and inexact diagnosis. Health officials have launched a national education campaign to stop over-prescription at its roots. Television, radio, and print ads will inform consumers that antibiotics are meant for strep throat, sinus infections, and bacterial pneumonia; NOT, bronchitis, sore throats, flu and cold symptoms or the majority of kids ear infections.

Doctors too will be reminded that prescription antibiotics aren’t a cure-all. Data sheets will be available for pushy patients and T- shirts with the slogan “Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work” will remind doctors not to give into anxious parents.

“Many people expect every visit to a doctor to end with a prescription,” says Jerome L. Avorn, M.D. associate professor at Harvard Medical School. Between doctors who prescribe unnecessarily and patients who demand the newest and most widely publicized drugs…we have created a serious problem.

When a cold or the flu strikes and antibiotics won’t help, try to make yourself as comfortable as possible and use natural ingredients. Follow the advice of experts: Vitamins C and E and zinc to help shorten the duration, drink lots of green or black tea and get plenty of rest.