Medical stories can fiercely divide the press – the recent announcement of an apparently extremely effective treatment for Clostridium difficile infections has done just that.
The early evidence is encouraging – of 20 sufferers treated, 18 were cured of the severe diarrhoea that antibiotics had previously failed to control. So where is the controversy?
The news coverage is generally very positive but it seems that many journalists just can’t get over the fact that the treatment comprises frozen faeces. You can almost hear them rubbing their hands with glee as they write about “poop pills” and launch into a series of toilet-related puns. The other camp sticks rigidly to the term “frozen faecal matter,” perhaps to make the whole thing seem more palatable?
Scatological issues aside, one story was keen to warn sufferers against do-it-yourself treatments, with friends and family serving as donors. I can picture the conversation now – “come over for dinner, I have something I’d like to ask you…”
But how much do patients really think about where their drugs come from? Would many be comforted to know that infections are often treated with antibiotics that owe their genesis to the humble bread mould? In many ways, ignorance is bliss – which probably why the internet seems to cause an equal amount of enlightenment and misery.
Some patients may refuse the treatment on religious grounds - although Judaism certainly can permit the consumption of “unclean” material if given by a doctor to stave off death. However, for the others, I suspect the severe and sometimes life-threatening effects of C difficle infection will outweigh any squeamishness.
|
|
 |
|
|
Share on LinkedIn |
Share via Email |
