Antibiotics will soon require vet prescription

[microchick]

Scary stuff.

Being a retired nurse I was on the front line when it came to dealing with antibiotic resistant illness.

Hospitals are hot beds of disease organisms and I saw more people that have fallen victim to this situation than makes me comfortable. People having surgeries, many knee or hip replacements find themselves victims of MRSA (methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus) or C-diff and found themselves being admitted to the rehab unit for treatment of a nasty infection that they caught IN the hospital. The IV antibiotics given to treat these conditions, Vancomycin being one of them, is potent and potentially dangerous even to administer with some pretty nasty side effects of it's own. When I worked in the nursing home industry we saw people admitted with these same conditions, AFTER being admitted to a hospital.

Where, I'd like to know, are these bacteria that are invading the hospitals coming from?

I've had incidents while working a new born nursery where cultures of the walls found staph bacteria. We were all tested regularly for staph. So who knows. Are the great unwashed masses coming in to visit patients and see their new family members bringing in the buggies? That is my theory.

Now what has made them resistant is the next question? MRSA can not be destroyed. It is forced into colonization by powerful antibiotics and remains dormant in the person's bloodstream. C-diff can be eliminated but it's my suspicion that what is happening is that people who have lesser illnesses that do require treatment with antibiotics are not taking the full course of medicine and the super bug transformation takes effect when that happens.

The key to it all might be as simple as education of the masses to stop this resistance.

 

[Cyprus]

Been preaching against this for 40 years. Only time I've used them in the last few decades was for a serious tooth abscess.

Yup, without even knowing what the illness is...SMH.
Wonder how long it will be before the aquatic(fish) AB's are restricted?

Imo ALL antibios in this entire country should be available by prescription only.

You give the gen population access to antibiotics and you will always, without fail, have the dumb folks who use it for everything just because they can.

 

[Kusanar]

People like my boss make me cringe. "I felt bad and I don't have insurance yet so I looked in my medicine cabinet and found some old antibiotics to take".... first of all, why do you even HAVE old antibiotics? You are supposed to take them all when they are prescribed... Also, do you have something that antibiotics will treat? If not, then why are you taking them?

 

[Shadrach]

I must admit I've been pretty horrified when reading many of the health and injury posts here where people have been advised to give their animals this or that antibiotic by people who haven't even examined the creature let alone diagnosed what ails it.
I'm all for much tighter control an antibiotics in general. it's just a shame better controls can't be implemented for those who will doubtless help keepers to get around the restrictions on forums such as this.

 

[CarpCharacin]

I'm not too sad to see them being made to require a prescription now. Sure, it makes it more difficult for people to obtain the antibiotics if they need them, but they are also overused, so it is time for the "greater good" to be taken into consideration.

I posted a thread about antibiotic use earlier this year: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/the-implications-of-antibiotic-use.1296394/

People are very caught up in their own selfish desires, it will cost them money to obtain a prescription for the antibiotics from a vet, but it is time for safeguards to be enacted to prevent antibiotic overuse. For those complaining about the burden to convenience in obtaining antibiotics, it'll be even less convenient for you if vet-prescribed antibiotics stop working on your animals, due to resistance caused by overuse, or if an antibiotic resistant zoonotic pathogen emerges which starts killing your friends and family.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Popping in to say. .
This restriction on buying antibiotics is just another case of bad apples ruining it for the rest of us.
It is unfortunate that those of us who would only use them sparingly and on a case by case basis will not have access because there are too many out there who would treat for anything and everything.
Same as people who go to the doctor for every hang nail.

My ducks are more like a hobby to me. . I guess I'm on the fence between livestock and pets. I'm not going to force them to live in the house and wear cloths and be my full time lap warmer.
But I wouldn't be above slapping a hat on one to take a funny picture to post.
I can't say I would absolutely NEVER take one to the vet. . if I felt it was something I couldn't handle myself, and it wasn't an issue that put the rest of my birds at risk. .and it's not going to cost me a months pay check to take it. but it's highly unlikely that I ever will find it reasonable to take one. For me it's not about putting a price tag on the birds life as much as it is common sense and making a rational decision.

It's getting to the point where no-one can give any advice around here without the vet scorning happening at one extreme or another.
Their needs to be some middle ground in my opinion.
I personally get tired of hearing "vet or cull" as the only two options for anything.

 

[perchie.girl]

The only real issue I see is not being able to treat an injury from a raccoon, fox, possum attack where the predator has a ton of bacteria in their mouths. Might just have to bring back the use of peroxide and alcohol!!! The horror!

Thank gawd Chickens dont get Rabies...

 

[roosterhavoc]

Popping in to say. .
This restriction on buying antibiotics is just another case of bad apples ruining it for the rest of us.
It is unfortunate that those of us who would only use them sparingly and on a case by case basis will not have access because there are too many out there who would treat for anything and everything.
Same as people who go to the doctor for every hang nail.

My ducks are more like a hobby to me. . I guess I'm on the fence between livestock and pets. I'm not going to force them to live in the house and wear cloths and be my full time lap warmer.
But I wouldn't be above slapping a hat on one to take a funny picture to post.
I can't say I would absolutely NEVER take one to the vet. . if I felt it was something I couldn't handle myself, and it wasn't an issue that put the rest of my birds at risk. .and it's not going to cost me a months pay check to take it. but it's highly unlikely that I ever will find it reasonable to take one. For me it's not about putting a price tag on the birds life as much as it is common sense and making a rational decision.

It's getting to the point where no-one can give any advice around here without the vet scorning happening at one extreme or another.
Their needs to be some middle ground in my opinion.
I personally get tired of hearing "vet or cull" as the only two options for anything.

The vet issue is because most of it can be treated at home. The vast majority of problems that can’t be treated at home aren’t treatable issues in general. So..for all the people saying “is a vet an option” should explain what the keeper can do for themselves if they even know which is highly unlikely. If people want to piss away their money on nonsense more power to em. All Im saying is it seems like it would be in the owners best interest to do for themselves. A little self reliance isn’t a bad thing.
For the “culling” well that’s never gonna change. If your flock is weak and you constantly have issues treating them for every ailment thats just kicking the can down the road. While it truly doesn’t matter the fact is half these people peddle birds to anyone they can which in turn makes the problem worse.
Then poor Susies 1 yr old chicken is blind in one eye, walking in circles, and is retaining fluid like a water balloon and they have no idea why since they did everything right!

 

[dawg53]

"We're from the government and we're here to help."

One of many President Reagan's famous quotes.

 

[Matilda Belle]

I think more regulation is a good idea due to resistance. However, I too am concerned with the fact we do not have an exotics vet in my area. How would someone like me get antibiotics?