Antibiotics is a class of drugs which is used to treat infections caused by bacteria. A great deal of research has bought different kinds of antibiotic medicines that work effectively against a bacterial infection and cure many ailments.
Antibiotics and their use:
Antibiotics are the medicines that kill or stop the growth of microorganisms, including fungi and bacteria. They have a bacteriostatic effect and are also known as antibacterial medications.
Antibiotics can improve your condition if a bacterial infection causes your illness, but they will not work at all if you have a virus. Taking antibiotics when you don’t need can lead to germs that are antibiotic resistant. By keeping the following things in your mind, you can promote proper use of antibiotics. The proper use will, in turn, ensures that the medicines will be effective when your body needs them.
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Understand when antibiotic medicines will work and when they will not work to treat an illness: Leave the habit of taking antibiotics every time you are sick. These drugs are effective in treating most bacterial infections, but they fail to fight against viral infections such as flu and cold. Sometimes, the cause of illness is difficult to understand, a majority of people get confused whether illness results from a bacteria or viruses. Consult your health care specialist if you are not sure.
Take exactly as prescribed: Follow your physician’s instructions while taking antibiotic drugs. The instructions may include how many times a day or for how long. Don’t stop the treatment if you start feeling better. A complete course is needed to kill all the harmful bacteria. If you do not complete the full course, it will add to the antibiotic resistant problem. An incomplete course of antibiotics will be able to remove only the vulnerable bacteria, which allows relatively resistant bacteria to grow vigorously.
Never take a pill without a doctor’s prescription: Antibiotics can be only purchased on the prescription of a doctor. However, if you haven’t completed the full course of that previously prescribed, you will try and take some of that medications the next time you get sick. You might give them to a family member who is sick. The problem with this practice is that the medicine might not be required to treat the illness, it might not be the right option to fight the bacteria in your body. All these practices can contribute to stronger strains of resistant germs.
Don’t take it if you have a virus: A prescription for antibiotics will not be effective if you have a cold or the flu. Don’t pressure your doctor to prescribe antibiotics for a virus. Instead, consult about ways to ease the symptoms of your virus illness.
Protect yourself from infection: Avoid infections by adopting some good habits, such as washing your hands after any activity, handling food in a safe manner, and keeping up to date on immunizations.
Mode of action:
Antibiotics are formulated to fight infection caused by bacteria. The goal of antibiotics is to kill and stop the growth of infection causing organism known as pathogens. The class of drugs targets the bacterial population causing the infection; they do not affect the cell of the body. It is quite unfortunate that though antibiotics are being used to treat bacteria constantly, but now bacteria have developed resistance against antibiotic medications. Numerous medicines with more effectiveness are being prepared and the bacterial genome is revolutionizing against these newly synthesized antibiotics.
These drugs can convert glucose into energy. They create a protective wall against the bacteria and stops the bacteria from entering the cells. Also, these antibacterial medicines protect the body from further infection and prevent the multiplication of bacteria.
Side effects:
Despite the fact, antibiotics useful in curing bacterial infections, they also have some adverse effects. Most of the side effects do not cause any serious trouble, but they can make life miserable while the medicine is being taken.
In general, the class of medication rarely cause an unwanted effect. The most common ones include nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. Fungal infections of the digestive tract, mouth infection and vaginal infections may also develop because antibiotics not only destroy the bad bacteria that cause illness but also kills the good one that helps prevent overgrowth of any one organism.
Some people are allergic to certain types of antibiotic drugs such as penicillin. An allergic reaction may include itching, urticaria, skin rash, and breathing problems in severe cases. Proper treatment is needed to treat these allergic reactions.
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Types of antibiotics:
There are a large number of antibiotics available in the pharmaceutical industry. The antibiotic your physician prescribes you depends on the type of infection you have and kind of antibiotics known to be effective. The main class of antibiotics includes:
Cephalosporins
Macrolides
Penicillins
Aminoglycosides
Fluoroquinolones
Tetracyclines
To protect the patient from undesired adverse effects, physician’s prescribes such antibiotics which suit person’s body.
