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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

CDC Warns of Dangers of Antibiotic Overuse

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Tuesday, November 13, 2012   

MAYWOOD, Ill. - This is "Get Smart About Antibiotics" Week. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors in Illinois and around the nation are warning patients that resistant strains of bugs are on the rise and people don't need antibiotics every time they get the sniffles or a sore throat. In fact, the CDC says overuse of antibiotics is causing resistant bacteria to multiply and make people sicker.

Loyola University infectious-disease specialist Dr. Gail Reid says many people do not realize how dangerous it can be to misuse antibiotics. She says sometimes people do not finish their medication and later try to use it after the expiration date.

"Not only may it not work or be effective, it may actually cause bad side effects. Using certain tetracyclines, if they are out of date, can cause serious complications."

Reid says people do not need to look for antibiotics for most sore throats, colds and even bronchitis. They usually go away on their own. The CDC says that overuse of antibiotics in animals also contributes to the proliferation of so-called "superbugs."

Reid says if your doctor says you do need antibiotics, be sure to tell him or her about all the medications you take. For example, a woman could end up pregnant after receiving treatment for a urinary tract infection, she says.

"Most of the time, when people prescribe Cipro or one of its relatives, they don't ask the young woman whether she's on birth control. It actually can impair the function or efficacy of their birth control medication."

The CDC advises doctors to write out suggested over-the-counter treatments for people who do not need antibiotics but insist that the doctor do something. The agency says Americans spend more than $1 billion a year on antibiotics they do not need.

More information is available at www.cdc.gov.



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