How can we fight against antibiotic resistance?

So finally health ministry of India took interest to initiate the fight against antibiotic resistance. Colistin(also known as polymyxin E) has been banned in food producing animals, poultry and aqua farming just before a week. This antibiotic was used so much wildly as prophylaxis for growth promoter in poultry. Colistin was directly affecting the meat consumers and that's why its resistance in human was spreading fastly. So three claps for ministry to show some intent. But it's not the fight of ministry alone. It's us who can make the large impact on the future of antibiotics. We are aware about the horror side of antibiotic resistance but by some small acts or some large facts we can solve it slowly slowly. Here are some recipes to initiate the fire.

1. Hand washing

You may be tired of listening the yelling of handwash by your parents from the childhood, but believe me they were on right path. Just by washing your hands before you eat anything, you may win 50% of the battle. 

Resistant bacteria may spread by everything but the touch is the most common vector to pass them from one to another. When you wash your hands by antiseptic soap or liquid, you are ruining the large colony of bacteria from your body. WHO also believes that hand hygiene is the crucial part of infection control. Afterall it's a better option for the prevention of infections rather than paying a huge hospital package.

2. Cooking thoroughly

Antibiotic residues are common in meat, egg yolk or milk of cattles and that's why above mentioned step was forwarded by ministry. But that's not enough for us. All the consumers whether they are vegetarian or non vegetarian have to cook their products thoroughly to expel out the residue of antibiotics especially some Penicillin, Tetracycline and all the Flouroquinolones. These minor amount of antibiotics work as a vaccine for the existing bacteria in the system and that's how they strengthen them to turn into superbugs. So whatever you eat, confirm that it's cooked appropriately. When you eat vegetables or fruits, wash them properly. Because you are not supposed to cook everything everytime.

3. Improving sanitation

Sanitation is the crucial yet boring part of hygiene. Because you can see by your eyes how medicines cure us but you don't see the long term imapct of well managed sanitation. Have you ever noticed the inside layer of your water pipelines? We can't think the turbidity layer of the water we are drinking because it's up to your filter plant and after that it's so called 100% pure but wait still it's not at least 100%.

Please assure the cleaning of your water supplies. By cleaning your residential area or working site you are lessen the chances of infection. By relieveing the overcrowding, you may assist the sanitation. Lesser will be the crowd, weaker will be the spreading of bacteria. Though overcrowding and India is the perfect mismatch contrast, we have to take care it as much as possible. 

4. Avoid OTC medications

There are many medicines which can be bought directly from the pharmacy without prescription. But please take pity on antibiotics and don't ask them from the pharmacy without prescription. Antibiotics are legally prohibited from the OTC. Over the counter culture is developing badly especially in India. If you have money, you don't need prescription. Here I must point out the greedy pharmacists who are taking a big risk by selling such drugs beyond their responsibility. We all believe doctors ourselves and for a simple illness we go for the antibiotic bombs. Here we need some brake. Please go through following link if you want to know what I mean.

Read: The horror show with antibiotic resistance

Don't go for shortcuts, it will hurt with a long cut on your wallet in the future. Your Dr google will not gone be help you everytime. 

5. Antibiotic policy

Doctors can play a lead role to inhibit this resistance saga. They are the most responsible for what they prescribe and when they prefer antibiotic to prescribe, they must completely aware of the diagnosis. One can not write on assumption basis everytime. Antibiotic policy has been already applied to all medicos for which type of infection which will be the choice of antibiotic. But you can't expect more from non allopathy doctors who uses antibiotics just like mouth fresheners in their prescriptions. A doctor should think twice before s/he prescribe the antibiotic if it is necessary or not. In some condition antimicrobial susceptibility report is necessary. In India government hospitals provide this report free of cost for TB patients and that's how drug resistant TB is ruled out. Though it is costly for each diagnosis, we have to follow this pattern one time in future and at that time only diagnosed bacterial infections will be prescribed antibiotics.

6. Decoy molecules

We can't fight long with the limited weapons. Available antibiotics are not enough to comabat the resistance eon and new antibiotics are in pipeline from years. We can't wait for this pipeline products and even they don't assure the complete result. In such condition scientists got a new idea of decoy molecules. Decoy molecules are the duplicate replica of existing antibiotics and both are administered simultaneously. Bacteria first bind with the decoy sites and that's how our real antibiotic will be available for the destruction of bacteria from the alternate way. Though this technique is in research phase, we can use old available antibiotics with decoy molecules. Afterall we are homo sepiens, the most extended version of monocellular bacteria. We can think better and better. Hope that decoy molecule will be our next super hero for the battle of existence.

Final Funda: Once I went to a pharmacy and asked, "Can you give me some antibiotics without prescription?" The man replied, "Of course bro, even you can call me anytime if you need MTP kit without prescription."