Tag Archives: bacteria

I’ll Be Fine…

I’ll take some antibiotics and (fill in the blank) will be gone tomorrow!  Antibiotics are wondrous drugs that can cure infections and contagious, life-threatening diseases. But, antibiotics aren’t always the answer.

image source: Cartoon Stock

Antibiotics are fantastic for curing bacterial infections, but they are powerless against infections caused by viruses, such as flu, colds, most sore throats, bronchitis, and some ear infections. They won’t keep others from catching the disease either. In fact, unneeded antibiotics may lead to future antibiotic resistant infections. Repeated and improper uses of antibiotics are primary causes of the increase in drug-resistant bacteria.

Antibiotic resistance has become a major concern and public health problem.

Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria changes in way that enables it to NOT be affected by antibiotics. Each time a person takes antibiotics, the sensitive (non-resistant) bacteria are killed, but then there are the rebels, the antibiotic-resistant bacteria, that survive and multiply. When exposed to antibiotics, the resistant bacteria says, “Eh, Antibiotics. NBD.”

image source: cspinet.org

But it’s a big deal for us! According to the CDC, “Almost every type of bacteria has become stronger and less responsive to antibiotic treatment when it is really needed.” Just like other bacteria, these antibiotic-resistant bacteria can quickly spread from person to person. If the bacteria is resistant to many drugs, then it can become difficult or impossible to treat. So is there anything we CAN do to stop this from happening?

Yes! Here are some tips from the CDC on how you can prevent antibiotic-resistant infections:

  1. Talk with your healthcare provider about antibiotic resistance:
    • Ask whether an antibiotic is likely to be beneficial for your illness
    • Ask what else you can do to feel better sooner
  2. Do not take an antibiotic for a viral infection like a cold or the flu.
  3. Do not save some of your antibiotic for the next time you get sick. Discard any leftover medication once you have completed your prescribed course of treatment.
  4. Take an antibiotic exactly as the healthcare provider tells you. Do not skip doses. Complete the prescribed course of treatment even if you are feeling better. If treatment stops too soon, some bacteria may survive and re-infect.
  5. Do not take antibiotics prescribed for someone else. The antibiotic may not be appropriate for your illness. Taking the wrong medicine may delay correct treatment and allow bacteria to multiply.
  6. If your healthcare provider determines that you do not have a bacterial infection, ask about ways to help relieve your symptoms. Do not pressure your provider to prescribe an antibiotic.

For more information, check out CDC’s FAQ on antibiotic resistance.

We’re 10 days away from the official start of winter (and the end of the world??) but it’s already getting cold! So bundle up! Drink lots of fluids! And get plenty of rest!

Stay warm!

By ALYSSA LLAMAS

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I Think It’s Time We Talk About…

CHLAMYDIA. Chlamydia is the most frequently reported bacterial sexually transmitted disease (STD) in the United States. It can be transmitted during vaginal, anal, or oral sex. 1,307,893 Chlamydia infections were reported in the United States in 2010. However, the CDC estimates that 2.8 million people in the United States are infected with Chlamydia each year. Why the big difference? Most people with Chlamydia don’t know they’re infected or don’t get tested. Untreated Chlamydia can result in serious complications for both men and women.

In women, untreated Chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which is the infection of the uterus, fallopian tubes (tubes that carry eggs from the ovaries to the uterus) and other reproductive organs. PID can lead to serious consequences including infertility, ectopic pregnancy (a pregnancy in the fallopian tube or outside the uterus), and chronic pelvic pain. Though complications in men are rare, they are still possible. Infection can sometimes spread to the epididymis (the tube that carries sperm from the testis), causing pain, fever, and, rarely, sterility.

So now that you know what happens if Chlamydia isn’t treated…(1)How can you prevent yourself from falling into the gap of not knowing your infected? (2)What do you if you have Chlamydia? and (3)How can you prevent yourself from getting Chlamydia in the first place?

1. How can you prevent yourself from falling into the gap of not knowing your infected?

Get Yourself Tested. Most people infected with chlamydia don’t have symptoms. So, the only way to know you have Chlamydia is if you get tested. If symptoms do occur, they usually appear within 1 to 3 weeks after exposure. 

Symptoms in women include:

  • Abnormal discharge from your vagina
  • Burning when you urinate
  • Pain or discomfort during sex
  • Pain in your lower belly or back, sometimes with a fever
  • Bleeding after sex or between periods
  • Pain, bleeding, or discharge from your rectum if you have anal sex

Symptoms in men include:

  • Discharge from your penis
  • Burning when you urinate
  • Burning and itching around the opening of your penis
  • Pain, bleeding, or discharge from your rectum if you have anal sex

Women 25 or under and sexually active should be tested for Chlamydia at least once a year, even if they don’t have symptoms. Ladies, you should also get tested if you’re having sex with more than one partner, with a new partner, or with someone who might have Chlamydia, or if you’re pregnant.

Guys, you should get tested if your partner (current or recent) is diagnosed with Chlamydia or if you experience any of the symptoms described above. Routine Chlamydia screening is not recommended for all men, but it is important for sexually active men to see a health care provider for regular checkups. Your provider can tell you if you need to be tested for Chlamydia or other STDs, based on your individual risk.

Chlamydia can be tested in two ways: urine sample or sample (swab) from cervix/vagina or penis. There are clinics that offer free and confidential testing. To find a testing center near you, enter your zip code finder at gytnow.org or text your zip code to GYTNOW (498669).

2. What do you do if you have Chlamydia?

Chlamydia can be treated and cured with antibiotics, which is why it’s important to get tested immediately. Persons with Chlamydia should abstain from sexual intercourse for 7 days after single dose antibiotics or until completion of a 7-day course of antibiotics to prevent spreading the infection to partners.

Also, you should get tested again about three months after you finish your treatment, especially if you’re not sure whether your partner was also treated. This is to make sure you are cured and have not been re-infected. And make sure to tell your partner(s) that he or she might also be infected.

3. How can you prevent yourself from getting chlamydia in the first place?

  • Use latex condoms consistently and correctly
  • Abstinence
  • Be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and is known to be uninfected

For more information, check out Check Up: Chlamydia by MTV: It’s Your (Sex) Life.

By ALYSSA LLAMAS

School Spirit

image source: washingtonindependent.com

No one likes needles. Getting your shots done not only relieves your anxiety of receiving them, but it is also unbelievably important to YOU and the rest of the human population. For those seniors getting ready to pack up their bags for college, or for those grads setting off for graduate school soon, there is one key vaccination you need: the meningococcal vaccine.

Meningococcal disease is caused by bacteria called Neisseria meningitides (CDC). The infection affects what covers your spinal cord and brain, or your meninges. Meninx, which is singular for meninges, is a membrane that covers and protects a person’s nervous system. As much as 2,500 people get infected each year in the United States, and 300 of those people die from it (New York Dept. of Health).

Once these bacteria cause illness, the warning signs to watch out for within a few days are: feeling confused, feeling nauseous, vomiting (that’s never pleasant), and becoming really sensitive to light (CDC). This may sound like your common hangover, but meningococcal meningitis, one of the infections caused by meningococcal disease, can actually cause permanent hearing loss, brain damage or death within a few hours! Definitely more serious!

The most common people to be infected by the bacteria: youngsters living in dorms. In fact, 100-125 meningococcal disease incidences a year are from college students living in residence halls. Out of those incidences, 5-15 young adults will die (ACHA). Know why? It’s because people living in such closed quarters are just more likely to spread their spit and germs with one another.

Once someone is infected, the bacteria will infect their mucosal lining, bloodstream, and then vital organs. The way people spread the bacteria can be by direct contact (kissing or sharing drinks, anyone?) or simply through the air (like sneezing and coughing).

So if you plan on doing a lot of making out in college, this vaccine might just be a good idea for you and anyone else you’re going to school or living with. Other people who need the shot:

  • people being recruited into the military
  • people without a spleen
  • microbiologists exposed to the bacteria
  • people who are traveling to other countries where meningitis is common
  • people with compromised immune systems

image source: blogspot.com

Let’s say you got the vaccine when you were younger. Think you’re safe? NOPE. MCV4, the meningococcal vaccine, only protects you for up to 5 years. If the last time you got MCV4 is close to that, you definitely need a booster shot, preferably when you’re between ages 16-18. When you do get a booster shot, it will boost your immune system and will make sure the first vaccination you get works.  That way, you will be protected from meningococcal disease!

Now don’t let your college experience become a nightmare waiting to happen.  Get vaccinated!

By ARIELLE COLON

Oh Schmidt

If you watch New Girl, then you’re probably familiar with Schmidt. Nine out of ten times, he’s pretty much what you see in that video. But in episode 15 (Injured), Schmidt said something…profound. For once, he wasn’t JAR’d.

“Treat your body like a temple. Treat your body like a temple” – Schmidt.

Here’s how:

1. Eat healthy. This does not mean going on a Whole Foods (whole-lotta-money) diet. Click here for some tips from My Plate on how to stretch those food dollars. Make sure to include grains, veggies, and fruits into your everyday meals. Beware of Suga Suga Suga and Step Away from the Big Mac. And can we get some Waters All Around, Please? Thanks. Eat healthy and you may have what it takes to be America’s Next Fruit Ninja!

2. Be active. The CDC recommends 1 hour of physical activity every day for children & adolescents and 150 minutes of moderate-intense aerobic activity each week for adults. Keep your Head in the Game and play sports! Hear music and Just Dance!

3. Wash your hands. None of us know where those Dolla Dolla Bills Y’all have been. Plus, Clean Hands Save Lives.

4. Don’t smoke. Duh! So, want to go to college? Then you better quit smoking! Click here for tips from former smokers.

5. Stay positive. Stress Stinks! Don’t let your Horrible Bosses get the best of you. And don’t forget about those new years resolutions you made not too long ago. We Like Number 16 of Thought Catalog’s 20 New Year’s Resolutions for 20-Somethings.

6. Get sleep. The CDC recommends 7-9 hours of sleep. Rock-a-bye-baby!

7. Get check-ups. Make sure you’re up-to-date with all of your vaccines and tests. Sexy and I Know It? Yea, that’s great. But did you know that healthy is the new sexy? So if you get sick or feel pain, make an appointment with your doctor. Don’t go playing doctor and diagnosing yourself using WebMD. It’s Trichy Trichy Trichy.

For more info, check out CDC’s Tips for a Safe and Healthy Life.

By ALYSSA LLAMAS

Dolla Dolla Bills Y’all

Before you go any further, click on the vid so you have a sweet tune playing while you read. THROWBACK!   

Money may be a popular subject to sing about, but that doesn’t make it any less dirty. Just think, where has that dollar bill been? Scenario: Girl hands it to a cashier at the grocery store, who hands it back to a guy who just went to the bathroom and didn’t wash his hands. Then the guy hands it to a homeless dude who sneezes on it. Homeless dude uses it to buy a coffee. Barista has a cold. You walk into that coffee shop, ask for some change, and BAM, you’re the proud owner of the dirty dollar bill. Congratulations.

DID YOU KNOW?

  • “The metallic odor left on your hands after touching coins and metal objects is actually a type of human body odor. Skin oils break down and decompose after touching iron – creating the oh so familiar coin smell on hands” (Happy Worker).
  • In a study by Dr. Peter Ender,  86 percent of bills had germs such as Streptococcus.
  • “The highest amount of bacteria on an ATM is fecal bacteria” (Tipking).
  • 30 percent of bills is contaminated with fecal bacteria.
  • 90 percent of US Currency is laced with Cocaine.
  • E. Coli can be found on 7 percent of all bills.
  • BPA, the chemical carcinogen, can be found on half of all notes.

HOW TO PREVENT GETTING SICK

  • “After handling a lot of bills, rub rubbing alcohol on your hands. Also it is wise to wash hands thoroughly after visiting ATMs. You may wish to carry an antibacterial solution with you” (Tipking).

The importance of washing your hands cannot be stressed enough. Did you check out our post on it yet?! Cash will never be germ-free, so it is up to YOU to handle it properly.

By HOSNA SAFI

Attack of the Salad!

Well, not exactly, but the FDA recently announced a recall on bagged salads over concerns of a Salmonella contamination. 3,265 cases of salad (with “best by” dates between Oct. 18 & 21) are being recalled by Taylor Farms Retail of California. States affected include AZ, CA, CO, FL, KY, MO, NM, NY, NC, OR, SC, TX, VA, and WA. If you have a recalled product, don’t eat it, return it.

Salmonella is a bacteria that lives inside the intestines of humans and other animals, such as birds. People usually get Salmonella by eating food, such as beef, poultry, eggs, milk, and vegetables, contaminated with animal feces. I’m 100% sure none of us intentionally eat food garnished with animal poo, so how can we get infected?

Salmonella can survive on raw meat or poultry if it is not cooked properly. If you’re into rare steaks, make sure it’s cooked to a safe minimum internal temperature. USDA recommends 145 °F for beef and pork and 165 °F for poultry. Also, be careful when making a side salad for that steak. Salmonella can spread if raw juices from the meat come into contact with the veggies. It’s important to thoroughly wash your hands, knives, cutting boards, utensils, and counters  after handling uncooked foods. For more tips on food safety, click here.

Our four-legged pals can also spread Salmonella. So wash your hands animal lovers. Reptiles are more likely to harbor Salmonella. Sorry Ms. Frizzle.

image source: current

According to the CDC, there are at least 40,000 Salmonellosis cases each year.  Symptoms include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps, which develop 12 to 72 hours after infection. Usually, the illness lasts 4 to 7 days and most people recover without treatment.  In more serious cases, antibiotics or hospitalization may be required.

I’ll leave you all with a fun fact. Salmonella was named after the American scientist, Salmon, who discovered it. Salmonella, a fishy matter indeed.