HE REMEMBERS crawling along on a floor in agony, just to avoid the light.
Geoff Brown, struck down by a deadly form of tuberculosis (TB), clung to life for almost a year, his family warned many times that he might not survive.
He was just nine.
Now, Mr Brown is joining doctors in a Europe- wide call for people to stop using antibiotics for coughs and sniffles to prevent potentially fatal conditions like TB coming back to the fore.
"I wouldn't want to see anyone go through what I went through," said Mr Brown, now 42.
"The misuse of antibiotics could stop us keeping this under control and that's worrying for the next generation."
Today is European Antibiotics awareness day and doctors hope people will stop expecting doctors to dish out antibiotics for minor illnesses such as colds and sore throats.
People have become accustomed to asking their GP for antibiotics for viral infections, even though antibiotics have no effect on them. When they start to feel better after a few days, they believe it is down to the antibiotics when, in fact, it is just the natural progression of the virus.
The over-prescription of antibiotics for viral infections is reducing their effectiveness in treating more serious bacterial infections such as meningitis, septicaemia and TB. Bugs are now becoming more resistant and a new form of TB called multi-drug-resistant TB, which does not respond to standard treatments, is now present in almost every country in the world.
If cases of TB spread and antibiotics are less effective, more and more lives will be placed at risk.
Britain's chief medical officer Professor Dame Sally Davies warns the rise of drug-resistant infections is a big a threat to safety in Britain as a terrorist attacks.
Dr Peter Moss, consultant in infectious diseases at Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, knows all about the dangers of drug- resistant infections after hospital staff were called on to care for four patients with the potentially deadly multi-drug-resistant gram negative bacteria earlier this year.
He said: "Most people will be familiar with the bug MRSA, which is difficult to treat as it has become resistant to many commonly used antibiotics. Unfortunately, MRSA is not the only type of bug that has developed resistance to antibiotics.
"Many other bacteria are becoming more difficult to treat and, in some cases, we are seeing infections with bugs which are almost untreatable because of resistance.
"The more bacteria are exposed to antibiotics, the more likely they are to become resistant and impossible to treat. Obviously, some infections do need to be treated with antibiotics, but in many cases, for example viral infections, antibiotics do no good at all and will only encourage antibiotic resistance."
He said people need to stop the demand for antibiotics.
"Many people mistakenly see antibiotics as a cure for all infections but, in the majority of cases, they will not help and will actually end up doing more harm than good, he said"
Mr Brown remembers vividly his battle for life after he is believed to have contracted TB meningitis from drinking contaminated water from a school tap.
He said: "There was a girl at my school who had it and they think I caught it drinking from the tap after her."
Suffering terrible headaches, he was becoming sicker by the day. His family were then living on an RAF base in Cambridgeshire and the doctor dismissed his symptoms as him trying to get out of school, sending him home with a tonic of sugared water.
"My mum took me home then spent the night tossing and turning, wondering just how sugared water was going to help me," he said.
Mr Brown was taken back to the doctor the next morning and this time, blood tests were called. Within hours, tests had confirmed he had TB and was rushed to Addenbrooke's Hospital by ambulance.
Doctors then began a battle to save his life. Even with antibiotics, he clung to life and spent six months in hospital before he was allowed to join his family for a break at their caravan as part of his recuperation. However, he relapsed and was rushed back to hospital, forced to take 12 and a half tablets every day and a spoonful of medication.
He spent another five months in hospital before he was well enough to go home.
He moved to Hull in 2002 after meeting his wife and they now have four children, Ben, 18, Rebecca, 11, Luke, nine, and five-year-old Oliver and now works as the community life champion at Asda Kingswood.
"It was a long time ago but it's not something you forget," he said.
"I was so sensitive to light and had headaches all the time.
"The best way I can describe it was it was like a very, very bad flu. I was so weak and just so unwell for a long, long time.
"It's not something I would ever like to see anyone else go through."
Help protect antibioticsPEOPLE can visit www.antibioticguardian.com to make a pledge to protect the use of antibiotics for future generations.
They should always taking antibiotics as prescribed by their GP and never skip doses. Patients should ensure they take antibiotics at regular intervals and never save some "for later".
However, GPs must also play their part by not prescribing antibiotics inappropriately.
Simon Gaines, senior principal pharmacist at Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "It's important to remember that antibiotics are not just used to treat infections, they're used routinely throughout other forms of treatment such as setting broken bones, basic operations, and even chemotherapy.
"These procedures all rely on access to antibiotics, and without effective antibiotics many routine treatments will become increasingly risky."
Staff at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital already limit antibiotics to five-day courses.
Mr Gaines said: "If we are to continue the fight against infection successfully and keep more patients safe in years to come, we need to act now."
