Antibiotic Crisis

The global crisis of antibiotic resistance has grabbed headlines around the world.  We've long depended on antibiotics to cure everything from pneumonia to skin infections but are now realizing that antibiotics are no longer a sure bet.  More and more bacteria are becoming resistant to the standbys we've depended on and there are no new antibiotics emerging.

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, lessons specific to village health care were developed and shared with the HealthEd Connect health workers recently.  They are on board and eager to spread the news!

The plan?

1.  Use a home-made guava-leaf antiseptic as the first line of defense.  Research in U.S. universities is finding guava to be highly effective against staphylococcus and other bacteria.
2.  Use Vaseline on wounds, such as cuts or burns, where there is no evidence of infection.
3.  Use a single antibiotic ointment for infections that do not respond to the guava-leaf antiseptic.
4.  Finally, go to our miracle worker, the triple antibiotic ointment that has cured countless leg ulcers and other infections over the years.

We've been receiving reports from the health workers that the new plan is working well and many wounds can be healed without resorting to the triple antibiotic ointment.  We're trying to do our part in the villages, as members of the global community, to preserve the efficacy of antibiotics.