Rethinking antibiotics

Rethinking antibiotics

INTRODUCTIONS In the past 50 years, antibiotics became an important part of our everyday lives: we take them during routine visits to dental and doctor offices, but they are also invisibly present on supermarket produce shelves. If asked around, one would probably hear as many definitions of the word “antibiotic” as there are uses for these powerful drugs. However, this everyday presence was re...

Collective action and individual choice: rethinking how we regulate narcotics and antibiotics.

Governments across the globe have squandered treasure and imprisoned millions of their own citizens by criminalising the use and sale of recreational drugs. But use of these drugs has remained relatively constant, and the primary victims are the users themselves. Meanwhile, antimicrobial drugs that once had the power to cure infections are losing their ability to do so, compromising the health ...

When data conflict with practice: rethinking the use of prophylactic antibiotics before dental treatment.

Concern is growing about the overuse of antibiotics and the subsequent rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Antibiotics are commonly used to prevent heart valve infections in susceptible patients undergoing dental or other surgical procedures. Although this practice has been standard for nearly 50 years, little evidence exists that it works. This Issue Brief summarizes a population-based stud...

Work on Oneself: Rethinking Authenticity

This article addresses the concept of authenticity, a characteristic of late modern Western culture. This characteristic is viewed by some as an ideal and by others as a root of the problems inherent within Western culture. After discussing various viewpoints, the author supports the idea that authenticity should not be totally accepted or rejected and sets forth a proposal based on the so-call...

Rethinking Perspective : ' Rethinking Medicare Reform ' Needs