Antibiotics are medicines that kill
the bacteria that cause infections.
Purpose
Physicians and patients have come to depend on antibiotics to treat
everything from sore throats and urinary tract infections to Meningitis and
Tuberculosis. These drugs are also used to prevent infections before,
during, and after surgery. But in recent years, health experts have noticed
that antibiotics are becoming less and less effective as people use them
more and more. This happens because of antibiotic resistance, a problem that
develops when antibiotics are over-used or mis-used.
Everyone can help keep antibiotic resistance from becoming an even bigger
problem than it already is. Here are some important guidelines:
- Do not pressure a physician to prescribe an antibiotic for a cold or
flu. Usually, such illnesses are due to a viral infection, which cannot
be treated with an antibiotic. Taking an antibiotic when it is not
needed will only encourage the spread of resistant bacteria in the body
and in the community.
- If a physician prescribes an antibiotic, do not be afraid to ask why
the medicine is being prescribed. Make sure the physician has good
reason to believe that the medicine will effectively treat the
particular condition for which it is being prescribed.
- When an antibiotic is appropriately prescribed, be sure to take all
the medicine, for as long as directed. When a patient stops taking the
medicine too soon, only the most vulnerable bacteria are killed, leaving
the rest to thrive. Any illness caused by the remaining, resistant
bacteria will then be harder to treat.
Description
Different antibiotics kill bacteria in different ways. Some
short-circuit the processes by which bacteria get energy, others disturb
the structure of the bacterial cell wall, and still others interfere
with the production of essential proteins.
Some 150 antibiotics are available. These include Tetracyclines,
Aminoglycosides, Penicillins, Cephalosporins, Fluoroquinolones,
Streptogramins, Sulfonamides, and Erythromycins.
Antibiotics are classified as narrow-spectrum drugs when they work
against only a few types of bacteria. Broad-spectrum antibiotics are
effective against a wide range of bacteria. However, broad-spectrum
antibiotics are more likely to promote antibiotic resistance. For that
reason, narrow-spectrum antibiotics, which often cost less, should be
used whenever possible. Broad-spectrum antibiotics should be reserved
for infections that do not respond to treatment with narrow-spectrum
drugs.
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