What we all should know:

1. Antibiotics save lives and have been a vitally important tool in medicine to fight infection since they were developed in the 1930’s.
2. Antibiotics have been overused, both in medicine and the raising of animals for food, leading to antibiotic resistance. This is currently well documented and slowly being addressed in both the medical community and farming.
3. There are many classes of antibiotics. In the 1980’s the Fluoroquinolone class was introduced and quickly reports of serious side effects began to emerge. Over half of the Fluoroquinolone antibiotics have already been removed from the market due to fatalities and serious side effects.
4. Medical professionals are currently unaware of the heightened warnings that have been added since 2008 including permanent and /or long term disabling side effects. Most drug side effects are transient and treatable. Fluoroquinolone side effects are long term and currently untreatable.
5. In 2008 two black box warnings were added to the warning labels. This is the strongest warning the FDA provides for physicians.
6. Fluoroquinolones including CIPRO, are associated with increased risk of tendinitis and tendon rupture in all ages. This risk is further increased in older patients usually over 60 years of age, in patients taking corticosteroid drugs, and in patients with kidney, heart or lung transplants (see WARNINGS).
7. Fluoroquinolones, including CIPRO, may exacerbate muscle weakness in persons with myasthenia gravis. Avoid CIPRO in patients with known history of myasthenia gravis.
8. In 2013 an additional heightened warning was also added to the warning label for fluoroquinolones.

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has required the drug labels and Medication Guides for all fluoroquinolone antibacterial drugs be updated to better describe the serious side effect of peripheral neuropathy.”

The serious nerve damage potentially caused by fluoroquinolones may occur soon after these drugs are taken and may be permanent. Peripheral neuropathy is nerve damage in the arms and/or legs, characterized by “pain, burning, tingling, numbness, weakness, of a change in sensation to light touch, pain or temperature, or sense of body position.”

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