It's been called "one of the world's most pressing public health problems" by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) and even has a week named after it.

Yet many of us have never heard of Antibiotic Resistance.

Overuse of antibiotics, inappropriate prescribing and incorrect taking of prescriptions can all result in the creation of a world where antibiotics will no longer be effective.

"Antibiotics do not take care of the common cold, nor 98 percent of all bronchitises and snotty noses," said Dr. Terence Neff, a board-certified pediatrician at Coeur d'Alene Pediatrics. "We in America use antibiotics more than any other country in the world."

According to the CDC, "Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in some way that reduces or eliminates the effectiveness of drugs, chemicals, or other agents designed to cure or prevent infections. The bacteria survive and continue to multiply causing more harm.

"A common misconception is that a person's body becomes resistant to specific drugs. However, it is microbes, not people, that become resistant to the drugs."

For many, antibiotics have become the comfort food of the disease industry.

Not feeling well? Call your doctor and ask for antibiotics?

Wrong.

"The incorrect use of antibiotics has changed the complexion of the bacteria we have to work with," said Dr. Walt Fairfax, Chief Medical Officer at Kootenai Medical Center. "We now have bacteria that don't respond to the antibiotics that we used in prior years. Essentially, the same bacteria have developed new resistances."

The statistics are impressive.

A recent CDC report said that close to two million Americans annually get sick from antibiotic-resistant bacteria and that nearly 23,000 die from those infections.

But humans aren't the only ones abusing antibiotics. The report added that "much of antibiotic use in animals is unnecessary and inappropriate and makes everyone less safe."

In addition to using antibiotics to prevent disease in animals, some businesses are now administering the drugs to encourage animal growth, a practice that federal authorities are trying to end.

Antibiotics first came into general use in the 1940s and were immediately touted as one of the greatest advances in modern medicine.

Antibiotics have, indeed, proven to be effective against bacteria. They are not, however, effective against viruses.

"It's not just about using a lot of antibiotics," Fairfax said, "It's about using them in situations where they're inappropriate.

"If your physician says, 'I think this is a virus and an antibiotic wouldn't be good for you,' you should take them at their word."

Why this resistance on the part of patients? Why these attempts at self-prescribing?

"You're looking at a society which is used to instantaneous results in everything they do - Internet, ATMs and 24-hour shopping," Neff said. "We also have a society which is bombarded on a regular basis by the miracles of medicines. This gives the impression that medicine truly can fix everything.

"We don't want to scare people away from taking antibiotics. If you need them, you shouldn't be afraid to take them. But when you do take them, take them all."

Because of misuse of antibiotics, Neff said, some strains of tuberculosis are now fully antibiotic resistant. Fortunately, none of those strains have yet reached the US.

Jeff Lee, RN, staff epidemiologist at Panhandle Health District 1, said that there are also strains of gonorrhea that are no longer susceptible to any of the routine antibiotics traditionally prescribed for them. Once again, these strains have yet to be diagnosed in the US.

"There was a report back in July that, because of this resistance, they're having to look at some alternative regimens for treating gonorrhea now," Lee said. "They're not drugs we've used in the past, but they're very strong antibiotics typically reserved for really serious infections.

"Part of the reason we're running out of antibiotics is that people take them until they feel better and then save the rest for later. That way the organisms left behind are the biggest and the baddest of the group and they're what's going to reproduce. That's what leads to antibiotic resistance and difficult-to-treat infections."

The number of cases of gonorrhea has recently been on the rise in North Idaho - more than tripling in the past year.

"We live in an instant world where everything can be fixed immediately," Neff said. "We must educate families about the risks of antibiotics. I think parents and others have to truly understand that many illnesses are treated with antibiotics and many are not. There's nothing wrong with asking your physician, 'Do I really need this?'"

Get Smart for Antibiotics Week: http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/