Antibiotics; Then and Now A Brief look at the use of Antibiotics today and what Chiropractic understood about them DECADES ago. Compiled by: Chad J. Rohlfsen, DC e-mail address: rohlfsen@dwx.com webpage you can find this article: http://users.dwx.com/rohlfsen/antibiotic.html My goal is not to disparage the NEED for antibiotics, it is to bring attention to the Overwhelming Irresponsible Abuse of this rather powerful crisis weapon ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Forward: For years upon years Chiropractic has been enduring the taunting calls of "Quackery" from the Medical establishment. Many M.D.'s claim that because Chiropractic knowingly misleads the public that it is "Quackery" in its highest form. Chiropractic for the most part has endured these allegations and continued to help the public in ways many in the medical establishment refuse to open its eyes to, even today. Well, today we have read many accounts in the media about Useless Antibiotic treatments through the decades of medical abuse and hypocrisy. As I can historically show you Chiropractic has had very strong opinions about the careless use of Antibiotic treatments as early as the 1950's. There are a few things I'd like you to pay attention to while reading the following. That being, take a look at the time frame, more than 50 years has passed since the introduction of Penicillin & antibiotics to our society. See how B.J. Palmer as well as the AMA, had similar views with the cautions of using such powerful drugs. NOW, ask yourself the honest question... "Why is the use of antibiotics still the same today as it was over 40 years ago"? Some in the medical world will call this propaganda. My friends, if you want propaganda just watch one hour of Prime time TV and count how many drug commercials you see in that 1 hour time frame, current counts have been above 14 per hour. NOW that's propaganda! -C.J. Rohlfsen Ý Quackery: How Should It Be Defined? Stephen Barrett, M.D. "Quackery" derives from the word quacksalver (someone who boasts about his salves).Dictionaries define quack as "a pretender to medical skill; a charlatan" and "one who talks pretentiously without sound knowledge of the subject discussed." These definitions suggest that the promotion of quackery involves deliberate deception, but many promoters sincerely believe in what they are doing. The FDA defines health fraud as "the promotion, for profit, of a medical remedy known to be false or unproven." This also can cause confusion because in ordinary usage -- and in the courts -- the word "fraud" connotes deliberate deception. Quackery's paramount characteristic is promotion ("Quacks quack!") rather than fraud, greed, or misinformation...... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ B.J. Palmer Stated the Following in the Green Books in 1951... Ý "To begin with, a particular medicine will cure a number of illnesses, then little by little a certain number elude it; next, those on which it has effect, demand larger and larger doses. This is the case with the sulfamides and the antibiotics so widely used today. THESE PRODUCTS ARE SO ILL ADAPTED TO OUR ORGANISM that a certain number of individuals become intolerant of some and "resist" others. Doctors cannot succeed in understanding why it is enough for one person to have been more or less in contact with a sick person treated by antibiotics and then see these medicines become ineffective and EVEN PROVOKE A SERIOUS ADVANCEMENT OF THE DISEASE. It is because modern medicine finds its therapeutic means more and more in the retorts of chemists that it cares so little about physiological and endocrinological phenomena." (Vol. XXVI pp. 543 "Conflicts to Clarify" B.J. Palmer D.C., Ph.C. 1951) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Today they are finding this........ full text: http://cnn.com/HEALTH/9709/16/antibiotics.ap/ Study: Doctors are overprescribing antibiotics Ý September 16, 1997 Web posted at: 10:44 p.m. EDT (0244 GMT) CHICAGO (AP) -- Doctors wrote 12 million antibiotic prescriptions in a single year for colds, bronchitis and other respiratory infections against which the drugs are almost always useless, a study found. Such indiscriminate use of antibiotics has contributed to the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria, a growing problem in the United States, the researchers said. More than 90 percent of upper respiratory infections, including bronchitis and colds, are caused by a virus and are therefore impervious to antibiotics, researchers noted in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association." *** B.J. Palmer Stated the Following in the Green Books in 1961... Ý "Yet the fact is that antibiotics are powerless against a virus they kill bacteria while the useless shots may cause allergic reactions and occasionally even death. These facts are well established, but some doctors say the public presses them to prescribe unnecessary wonder drugs or other symbols of 'modern' medicine,... " "Leading medical philosophers and researchers say that if the doctor is to improve his practice of medicine, he must think about each patient's whole make-up rather than about him as a case of specific illness". (Vol. XXXVII pp. 217 "The Glory of Going On" B.J. Palmer D.C., Ph.C. 1961) Ý *** "Doctors usually know this, but studies have suggested they may yield to pressure from patients -- or what they perceive to be the patients' expectations -- to prescribe a drug, even if it is unlikely to help. " *** B.J. Palmer Stated the Following in the Green Books in 1961... Ý "All too often, a patient will insist on a shot of glamorous penicillin or some newer antibiotic for a mild infection. The physician will explain that the drug is not necessary that it is better for the body to use its own defenses but the determined patient shops around until he finds someone who will administer it anyhow." "The frequent result is that, although the individual's own natural resistance would have conquered the infection, the antibiotic suddenly robs the body of the germs necessary to stimulate the antibody producing mechanism into action. And, a stubborn chronic disease takes hold, against which, antibiotics are now powerless." (Vol. XXXVII pp.105 "The Glory of Going on" B.J. Palmer D.C., Ph.C 1961) *** "Every time we use an antibiotic, we run the risk of promoting antibiotic resistance, or drug resistance, by bacteria," said the lead author, Dr. Ralph Gonzales of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. In the past 10 to 15 years, doctors have seen an epidemic of Streptococcus pneumoniae that is resistant to penicillin and penicillin derivatives, Gonzales said. The strain of bacteria is a leading cause of ear and sinus infections, meningitis and other common and potentially serious illnesses. Drug resistance has been blamed on overuse of antibiotics and the failure of some patients to take their medicine properly. Some patients stop taking their medication once they feel better but before the infection has been knocked out, enabling the hardiest germs to survive and multiply. In 1992, doctors prescribed antibiotics to two-thirds of bronchitis sufferers who visited them in their offices and half of common-cold sufferers and patients with other upper respiratory infections, the researchers found. That amounted to 12 million prescriptions, or one in every five antibiotic prescriptions written for adults that year, the researchers said. The 1992 figures were the latest available for the study, but the 1995 numbers have since become available and are similar, Gonzales said. Doctors have been prescribing antibiotics for upper respiratory infections because until recently they thought that it wouldn't hurt, and that a very small chance existed that it might help, Gonzales said. " *** B.J. Palmer Stated the Following in the Green Books in 1957... Ý Three Important Rules "Who was to blame? Both the patient and the second doctor were at fault. She for demanding treatment with the threat of getting another doctor; he for permitting the patient to direct a type of treatment which he should have known was valueless and might even be dangerous. What can be done about the increasing number of reactions to antibiotics. First, the patient and his physician must realize that antibiotics ARE NOT COMPLETELY HARMLESS AGENTS. Second, physicians must administer antibiotics only when the indications for their curative effects are clear. Third, the public must rid itself of the notion that antibiotics ARE CURE-ALLS." This is No. 78 in This Week's Good Health Series AUTHORIZED BY THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. (THIS WEEK Magazine, March 31, 1957.)" ( Vol. XXXIV pp.18 "Evolution or Revolution" B.J. Palmer D.C., Ph.C. 1957) *** "In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Benjamin Schwartz of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said "an immediate and aggressive response" is needed to combat inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics." "We encourage all physicians to examine their own practices and identify where they can decrease unnecessary antimicrobial use," he said. "Give your body's own immune system enough time to clear the infection," he said. Also, any patient prescribed an antibiotic should consider asking the doctor: "Do you really think I need this?" -The Associated Press ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Today they are finding this........ Ý Antibiotic Prescribing Practices Assailed Aspirin "Bottomline: They (physicians) encourage resistant bugs to flourish by treating many people who have colds and other viral ailments with antimicrobials drugs that are virtually useless," noted the Chronicle News Service, September 17, 1997 A study of 29,000 patient visits to 1,500 physicians found that over half the patients with a cold or upper respiratory tract infection and 61% with bronchitis received an antibiotic prescription"-one of the "virtually useless" kind! The study concluded that over 20 percent of all antibiotic prescription filled by medical standards were worthless-and ultimately harmful to the population as a whole. Antibiotic resistant organisms included 1% of strep infections in 1980. Recent data suggests that 29% of strep infections involve an antibiotic resistant organism." (The latest stuff from Gerry, September97) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Today they are finding this........ Full Text: http://cnn.com/HEALTH/9703/07/nfm/sore.throats/index.html Study: Antibiotics often wrong treatment for sore throat Ý March 7, 1997 Web posted at: 6:15 p.m. EST From Correspondent Al Hinman ATLANTA (CNN) -- Spring is around the corner with its promise of warmth, sun and respite from the cold season and sore throats. Unfortunately, a new season doesn't mean an automatic end to colds, and people will still be seeking cold relief for months to come. But according to the latest research, published in this week's British Medical Journal, antibiotics have -- at best -- a marginal effect on how quickly a sore throat disappears. The only exception: severe cases, such as a strep infection. "If it's a strep bacterial infection, you treat them with antibiotics," said Dr. Samuel Mickelson, an otolaryngologist. "If not, you take Tylenol, (get) bed rest and wait!" -No cure-all Mickelson admits that some people will demand antibiotics,but he points out that for some sore throats, antibiotics won't do anything. "I think people should recognize that a doctor cannot necessarily make them better immediately," he said. In cases where antibiotics are effective, they must be used correctly. That means take them all, for the full, prescribed time, so that you kill every last one of those nasty bacteria. " *** B.J. Palmer Stated the Following in the Green Books in 1961... Ý WHY DOCTORS HESITATE TO PRESCRIBE ANTIBIOTICS (Condensed from Today's Health, published by American Medical Association)" In this we find: "Antibiotics may alter the natural germ balance in our bodies. Billions of bacteria and fungi are ALWAYS present in our mouths, throats, and intestinal tracts. Some of them ARE ESSENTIAL to the digestive process; others, in the colon, manufacture certain ESSENTIAL vitamins. Even those THAT DO US NO DIRECT GOOD, AT LEAST DO US NO KNOWN HARM. But when antibiotics are intro-duced into our systems they SELECTIVELY kill off some of these microbes AND UPSET NATURE'S delicate germ balance. Other microbes may then multiply at an explosive rate and make us the victims of so-called super infections." "(Note in the above quotation the word "Nature." Again we ask, what IS "Nature" to them ?)" (Vol. XXXVII pp. 242 "The glory of Going On" B.J. Palmer D.C., Ph.C. 1961) *** "Otherwise, the bacteria causing your miserable sore throat can develop a resistance to the antibiotic and return in full force. Then you'll have to switch to another type of antibiotic to hopefully knock them out. Antibiotic resistance has become such a serious problem worldwide that doctors are being urged to use antibiotics only when they have to." Ý ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Today they are finding this........ Full text: http://cnn.com/HEALTH/9708/22/unstoppable.germ/index.html New staph infection could be impossible to treat Ý August 22, 1997 Web posted at: 3:20 p.m. EDT (1920 GMT) Ý "ATLANTA (CNN) -- A bacteria that can fend off one of the most powerful antibiotics -- the last pharmaceutical line of defense -- has appeared in the United States. The rare strain, Staphylococcus aureus, was first identified three months ago in Japan. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday that a Michigan dialysis patient infected with Staphylococcus aureus was not responding completely to the drug vancomycin. The germ showed an intermediate level of resistance to the drug, which is one step away from immunity, officials said. The patient now is being treated with a combination of drugs, including vancomycin. This tougher strain of staph was already difficult to treat. Doctors are now worried no treatment will be available for those infected with the deadly bacteria. Staph bacteria are the No. 1 cause of hospital infections. They are blamed for about 13 percent of the nation's 2 million hospital infections each year, according to the CDC. Overall, the 2 million infections kill 60,000 to 80,000 people." Ý -The Associated Press contributed to this report. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Today they are finding this........ Full Text: http://cnn.com/HEALTH/9709/05/resistant.germ.ap/index.html Resistant staph reappears in United States Ý September 5, 1997 Web posted at: 4:52 p.m. EDT (2052 GMT) Ý "ATLANTA (AP) -- A staph germ that is shrugging off the most powerful antibiotic available has shown up in the United States for the second time. The strain of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria that turned up in a patient in New Jersey, like the one reported last month in Michigan, showed an intermediate level of resistance to vancomycin, one step from immunity, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. " -The Associated Press. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ý B.J. Palmer Stated the Following in the Green Books in 1961... Ý "ANTIBIOTICS LINKED TO RARE DISEASE Atlantic City, (ACP) Dr. Robert T. Murphy, Cleveland surgeon, told his colleagues at a recent meeting of the American College of Surgeons that antibiotics are apparently the CAUSE of a rare disease (staphylococcic entercolitis) WITH A FATALITY RATE OF 33 per cent. According to Dr. Murphy the disorder is produced by a specific organism usually HELD IN CHECK BY THE NATURAL microorganism and flora present in the intestinal tract. Antibiotics destroy these micro-organisms, it was stated. Symptoms of the disease include vomiting, abdominal pain and severe diarrhea. DEATH IS CAUSED by dehydration, similar to that in cholera." (Vol. XXXVII pp.206 "The Glory of Going On" B.J. Palmer D.C.,Ph.C 1961) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Today they are finding this........ Full Text: http://cnn.com/HEALTH/9708/13/health.briefs/resistant.bacteria.ap/index. html Finnish effort reducesdrug-resistant germs Ý August 13, 1997 BOSTON (AP) -- A nationwide effort in Finland to use fewer antibiotics has reversed a troubling increase in drug-resistant germs. The emergence of bacteria that are impervious to standard medicines is a big concern because it narrows doctors' choices when treating common infections. Overuse of antibiotics -- especially prescribing them when they are not clearly needed -- is often blamed. In the late 1980s, health officials in Finland noticed an alarming increase in strep bacteria resistant to erythromycin, a standard antibiotic. They began a campaign urging doctors to cut back on their prescriptions of this and closely related medicines. Use of these drugs quickly fell in half, and the results were soon apparent. In 1993, the year after the effort started, erythromycin resistance peaked at 19 percent. Then it fell steadily, until 9 percent of strep bacteria were resistant in 1996. The results of the campaign were reported by Dr. Helena Seppala and colleagues from the Finnish National Public Health Institute in Thursday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. " -The Associated Press. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ý B.J. Palmer Stated the Following in the Green Books in 1957... Ý "When the microscope came, they saw smaller animals than they knew: microbes, germs, parasites. All other means having failed, they had a new causative enemy on which to declare war, attack, and annihilate. Germs OUTSIDE got INSIDE and caused tuberculosis and many other diseases. "Give us enough money and we'll destroy every disease-producing germ, which all are declared to be, out of the world," was the salvation war-cry, but the working principle REMAINED THE SAME. From vaccines, medicines, vaccinations, antibiotics, new "wonder drugs," ALWAYS the same routine trying to modify, subdue, annihilate, stimulate or inhibit INSIDE disease by forcing it OUTSIDE by OUTSIDE methods. Everything concocted since the days of Theles has ALWAYS been caused OUTSIDE THE BODY, and THE TREATMENT CURE CAME FROM OUTSIDE to overcome the OUTSIDE "cause" they hoped was right and they hoped they had found OUTSIDE." (Vol. 34 pp. 59 "Evolution or Revolution" B.J. Palmer D.C., Ph.C. 1957) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Science should NOT be without Philosophy, for it can prove to be VERY dangerous... don't you think? So now my close minded AMA friends, the question stands..... Who's "QUACKING" NOW?! Ý