Antibiotics.

"The discovery of penicillin is attributed to Scottish scientist and Nobel laureate Alexander Flemming in 1928." --Wikipedia.

Yes, schools everywhere, I just cited Wikipedia and I do believe it to be credible. Antibiotics haven't been around for even a century, yet they are a very common use of medicine. Also of household products. Antibiotic soap. Antibiotic hand gel. Antibiotic children's toys, pillows, earrings... Maybe I'm also getting confused with hypoallergenic. Which, according to Wikipedia, means it causes less allergic reactions. So if your allergic to bacteria, the two could be synonyms.

I was going to insert a paragraph here listing names of many antibiotics, but the Wiki page on Antibiotics proves much too wordy for me to put in the effort. So I'll begin the story.

Antibiotics are a medicine made to kill bacteria. Bacteria is a type of living organism that causes various sicknesses. Also, some bacteria are good, like the ones living in your intestines. However, bad bacteria must be vanquished from your body with the use of an antibiotic, prescribed by your friendly doctor upon need. Or upon request. Or upon a vague whim of sickness, or any other small unexplained complaint. You see, I have an issue with the overuse of antibiotics. I did a speech on it once in college. Most antibiotics are 99.9% effective. Now, people see that and think, "Well, now, that kills all the bacterias that are around and leaves me safe!" Firstly, you teach your immune system NOTHING by refusing to allow it to battle. Secondly, it in no way kills everything. In fact, 0.1% of those bacteria survive and learn to counteract that antibiotic. These surviving, immune bacteria are no longer easily destroyed, they are slowly becoming superbacteria, a new breed of diseases which cannot be destroyed by normal antibiotics. The same thing happens when people cease using prescription medicine because they feel better, even though some antibiotics remain. They help breed super powerful, resistant bacteria.

Now, if that isn't enough to be worried about, there's an even more pressing issue. People who misuse antibiotics. They don't realize that all that antibiotics can do is kill bacteria. I become worried when, upon telling my mom that I have a cold, she suggests I take an antibiotic, and even more concerned when, responding that the doctor won't prescribe some for my cold, I am informed that we have some left over from someone's unfinished prescription. Nothing about that situation offered me any comfort of mind or any cure for my cold. If anything, the virus inside of me laughed, hearing this solution, and began planning an alliance with superbacteria to take over the human race. Not comforting at all.

At work, I told this story to my coworkers, where one of them told a similar story where a previous boss offered her one antibiotic pill on a day when she felt under the weather. Other people had similar parent stories, and some even had stories of doctors over-prescribing antibiotics.

Friends, readers, internet-users everywhere, I urge you. We must spread the word. We must educate the people on bacteria and proper antibiotics use. It's up to us now.

Contact me via blog comment if you have any ideas for a catchy t-shirt design to help spread the word.