ciemnogrodzianin: Existence of antibiotics.
dtgreene: Just remember:
* Only use antibiotics if you actually need them. (There's a good reason they require a doctor's prescription; overuse causes bacteria to develop immunity, making them less effective in the future.)
* If you are prescribed antibiotics, don't stop when you feel better; keep taking them until you run out. Otherwise, bacteria will have more of a chance to develop immunity, which can cause the illness to come back and not be as easily treatable.)
Thank you, I'm quite aware of how it works. I'm even somehow interested in antimicrobial resistance problem, which seems to be quite a challenge for all of us in near future.
From doctor I know about a few difficult cases from Polish hospitals, where we have some people infected by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. It's really difficult issue, even from legal point of view, because in some of these cases there seems to be no reason to keep these people in the hospital, but they also cannot be sent home because of potential danger for society. It gives me another, real-world perspective for science articles about AMR/ABR. Quite frightening, to be honest.