For many years we have become increasingly dependent on antibiotics to fight disease-causing bacteria in our bodies. Many of the diseases caused by these bacteria and microbes are infectious. For these reasons it has been noticed that bacteria and other microbes are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics prescribed to sick people. Many doctors prescribe antibiotics for common illnesses, but other medicines such as home remedies and homeopathy may be used. As a result, we use antibiotics too often, as many sources argue that we should only use them once every three years. “Bacteria have shown a remarkable ability to resist and adapt to their environment, including the development of diverse resistance mechanisms to most old and new antimicrobial agents.” Due to frequent prescribing, the bacteria and microbes that cause these diseases are frequently exposed to the same type of antibiotics, so they are able to adapt and develop resistance against these antibiotics. “Bacteria have developed resistance to all the different classes of antibiotics discovered to date.” This is a big problem since we rely so much on antibiotics to treat serious illnesses that we are running out of options with which to treat them. Prescribing antibiotics for non-life-threatening illnesses now means fewer ways to treat people with illnesses that can be fatal. Streptococcus pneumoniae (responsible for causing strep throat and other throat infections) is spreading through communities at an alarming rate, and antibiotics used to treat Streptococcus pneumoniae are becoming increasingly ineffective due to the antibiotic being prescribed to so many people so often... middle of paper... animals can become infected as the meat is infested with pathogens. There is a raging debate over the issue of overuse of antibiotics to treat animals. I believe that to solve this crisis of increasingly resistant bacteria, we must all take the lead. Of course antibiotics shouldn't be prescribed so freely, but I think it's all about education. If people were educated on this topic, they would realize that they should not take antibiotics more than once every three years and would ask their doctor about alternative ways to deal with their illness. Better diets and a more active lifestyle will help a person stay healthy and strong. I believe that more research should be done on bacteria and that we should dedicate much of our research to finding alternative ways in which we can cure diseases.