WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ANTIBIOTIC?

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ntibiotic is quite familiar to all of us whenever our health got problems. Simply, it is used as the treatment and prevention of bacterial infection. In another words, antibiotic may either kill or restrain the growth of bacteria. However, antibiotics are not effective in preventing viruses such as the common cold or influenza, and may be harmful when taken inappropriately. Some other kinds of antibiotics are toxic to humans. Simply, antibiotics could prevent diseases caused by bacteria while they useless against viral infections. Some diseases caused by virus are:

Chickenpox. Flu (influenza) Herpes. HIV/AIDS

Human papillomavirus (HPV) Infectious mononucleosis. Mumps, measles and rubella. Shingles.

Introduction: The first antibiotic was penicillin, discovered accidentally from a mold culture. In 1928, Alexander Fleming identified penicillin that is the first chemical compound with antibiotic. During his researches, Fleming noticed some little green mold in one of his culture plates and he observed that the presence of the mold killed or prevented the growth of the bacteria. Today, over 100 different antibiotics are available to cure minor, and life-threatening infections.

Types of Antibiotics: Although there are more than 100 antibiotics, the majority comes from only a few types of drugs. Most of them have two names. First name will be given by the drug company that manufactures the drug and tend to be capitalized such as Keflex and Zithromax. The other name, such as cephalexin and azithromycin, is based on the antibiotic's chemical structure and not capitalized.

Side Effects of Antibiotics: Antibiotics may have some negative effect side depending on each patient’s habitus.  Some of the more common side effects may include: diarrhea or stomach upset. Moreover, you should notify your doctor if you have any of the following side effects: vomiting, allergic reaction, rash, white patches on the tongue.

Q&A:

1.     Do antibiotics cause bacteria to become resistant? Yes. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in some way that reduces or eliminates the effectiveness of drugs or chemicals designed to cure or prevent infections. The bacteria survive and continue to multiply causing more harm. The patients are suggested to try another kind of antibiotics or use with higher dose.  

2.     Can you get a cold while on antibiotics? Yes. Antibiotics won't treat viral infections because they can't kill viruses.

3.     Why are antibiotics not effective in the treatment of viral diseases? Because virus use their host cells to survive so antiviral drugs work differently to antibiotics, by interfering with the viral enzymes instead.

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