Many infectious diseases are cured thanks to antibiotics. But it wasn't the case always. Before the discovery of antibiotics, infectious diseases caused by bacteria were often incurable and deadly. But what really are antibiotics? When do we need them? How do they help cure the diseases? Are they somehow harmful?
Let's find out in this lesson! We will discuss:
To understand antibiotics, let's first remind us about bacteria.
Bacteria are living organisms existing as single cells. They are everywhere and most don't cause any harm, actually, in some cases bacteria are beneficial. Some bacteria are harmful and cause illness by invading the body, multiplying, and interfering with normal body processes. When this happens, the infection may start making issues and may cause severe disease. Usually, the body can not fight against bacteria by itself, and it needs help. Here, antibiotics may be of huge help, because they are antimicrobial substances active against bacteria. That is why antibiotics are sometimes called antibacterials or antimicrobials. Antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention of bacterial infections. They may either kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria.
Antibiotics can be taken orally in the form of liquids, tablets, or capsules, or they can be given by injection. Antibiotics are also available as creams, lotions or ointments, to apply to the skin when there is some skin infection.
The word antibiotic means “against life.” So, It is important to know that they cannot treat viral infections, such as cold, flu, and most coughs because viruses are not alive.
It is known that antibiotics are discovered by an accident!
Alexander Fleming who was a British scientist was working in his laboratory at St. Mary's Hospital in London. He discovered penicillin. During his work, he accidentally left uncovered a culture plate of Staphylococcus bacteria. Then, he left the laboratory. Upon returning he noticed that a mold had developed on the uncovered culture plate. Upon examination of the mold, he noticed that the culture prevented the growth of staphylococci. After isolating the mold and identifying it as belonging to the Penicillium genus, Fleming obtained an extract from the mold, naming its active agent penicillin. He determined that penicillin had an antibacterial effect on staphylococci and other gram-positive pathogens. This discovery led to the introduction of antibiotics that greatly reduced the number of deaths from infection.
We know that infectious diseases can be caused by many pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. Antibiotics should be taken for bacterial infections. This includes infections such as bloodstream infections, skin abscess/impetigo, bacterial pneumonia, urinary tract infections, streptococcal pharyngitis, and some middle ear infections.
Some signs and symptoms that you might have a bacterial infection could be fever, feeling tired or fatigued, swollen lymph nodes in the neck, armpits, or groin, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. If you have signs or symptoms, you should contact health professionals. They will find out the reason for having them, by different tests and analyses. When they confirm bacterial infection, and the type of bacterial infection, will decide what is the best antibiotic and how long to take it (depending on the situation with the disease and the type of bacteria). Most antibiotics should be taken for 7 to 14 days. But, in some cases, shorter treatments work just as well.
For the infection to be cured, antibiotics should be taken exactly as the doctor/pharmacist prescribes.
Take note that:
Some of the bacterial infections that require medical treatment with antibiotics are:
Antibiotics work by blocking vital processes in bacteria, either killing the bacteria or stopping them from multiplying. This helps the body's natural immune system to fight bacterial infection.
How do antibiotics find the infection? When you take the antibiotic, it enters your digestive tract. Then it is absorbed into the bloodstream same as nutrients from food. From there, it circulates throughout the body, soon reaching its target area, where pathogenic bacteria are causing an infection.
Proper use of antibiotics is of huge importance. What does it mean by "proper use"?
Sometimes, we don't feel better right after taking the first or second dose. But that doesn't mean that the antibiotic is not working. It means that it takes time for the body to get rid of the infection. Also, a lot of people stop taking their antibiotics once they feel better. Don’t end treatment early unless directed by your physician, even if you think it isn’t working, or you think the infection is gone.
Women usually develop a yeast infection while taking antibiotics, and they should be cautious when taking them. Yeast infection sometimes can be prevented by taking probiotics.
Women taking birth control pills drugs should be very careful when taking antibiotics because antibiotics reduce their effectiveness.
For antibiotics is also important to never double the doses, even if you miss a dose. You just need to resume with your next dose.
Different antibiotics work against different types of bacteria.
Today there are literally hundreds of different antibiotics that may be prescribed based upon the type of infection and suspected bacteria. For serious/severe infections, a broad-spectrum antibiotic (i.e., one that is effective against many different bacteria) is used initially. A narrow-spectrum antibiotic (i.e., one that is effective against a few specific types of bacteria) may then be used once the infecting bacterium has been identified.
These are some classes of antibiotics
Despite their safe use, It should be noted that antibiotics can have side effects. Most side-effects of antibiotics are not serious and include soft stools or diarrhea, or mild stomach upset such as feeling sick (nausea). Less commonly, some people have an allergic reaction to an antibiotic, which can be mild, or very dangerous.
Also, some antibiotics may interact with other medicines that you might take and may cause reactions, or reduce the effectiveness of one or other of the treatments.
Doctors should always be informed if you take other medicines or if you have some previous allergies, so they can know which antibiotic to prescribe.
Antibiotic overuse is when antibiotics are used when they're not needed. Antibiotics are one of the great advances in medicine, but in many cases, they are prescribed when not necessary (doctors are not sure if an illness is caused by bacteria or a virus or are waiting for test results) or are taken by people without consultation with health professionals. This led to situations where antibiotics don't work against bacteria. This is called bacterial resistance or antibiotic resistance, which is currently a growing problem. Some bacteria are already "resistant" to common antibiotics, and losing the ability to treat serious bacterial infections is a major threat to public health. Correct use of antibiotics is absolutely essential to help reduce antibiotic resistance.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is one of the most common antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This bacteria has developed resistance to traditional penicillin-related drugs. This resistance makes MRSA difficult to treat. MRSA must be treated with alternate antibiotics.
We look at antibiotics as a part of modern medicine. But it is true that they have actually been around for centuries. Antibiotics are derived from natural sources. Certain foods, plant extracts, and essential oils, have antibiotic properties. The following are just a few well-known natural antibiotics:
It is believed that garlic can be an effective treatment against many forms of bacteria, including Salmonella and Escherichia coli (E. coli). Garlic contains allicin, which is a strong antibiotic, and it's released when garlic cloves are crushed or chewed. Garlic is generally safe to ingest, but large doses might cause internal bleeding. Up to two cloves per day is considered an acceptable dosage.
Honey is one the oldest known antibiotics, tracing back to ancient times. The antibacterial effects of honey are usually attributed to its hydrogen peroxide content.
Ginger is recognized as a natural antibiotic, with the ability to fight many strains of bacteria.
Echinacea is also known as the purple coneflower. It is one of the most powerful natural antibiotics available. Echinacea is excellent at fighting bacterial infections, and it is known that can kill many different kinds of bacteria.
Goldenseal is also called orangeroot or yellow puccoon. It has antimicrobial properties that are ideal for fighting and preventing some types of infections.
Cloves have been shown to have antimicrobial properties, which can fight against some common types of bacteria, including E. coli.
Oregano is among the most effective natural antibiotics against several strains of bacteria.
But, meaning "natural" doesn't always mean "safe". You should consult your doctor if it is good to treat some mild infections with some of the available natural antibiotics, or is it better to use antibiotic drugs. Their proper use, dosage, and some side effects must be taken into consideration when planning to take some.
