Some illnesses require a patient to follow an antibiotic regimen for a specified period. The doctor instructs the patient to finish the full dosage of antibiotics even if the patient feels better before all the medication has been consumed.
What are antibiotics?
Antibiotics are one type of medicine that is used to stop infections due to bacteria. Antibiotics keep bacteria from reproducing or copying themselves. They can kill bacteria as well.
“Against life” is the term that applies to an antibiotic. That is because the drug can kill bacteria, which are living organisms. Although the term antibiotic is usually associated with bacteria, technically, any drug or medicine that kills germs is categorized as an antibiotic.
The discovery of antibiotics occurred in the 1920s. Before the medicine was discovered, many people died from simple bacterial infections. Without antibiotics, surgeries posed a higher risk to the patient.
In the 1940s, antibiotics became available, which increased life expectancy. People were able to survive what were once potentially life threatening infections, and surgeries became safer.
What antibiotics can and cannot do for you
Many bacteria live in the human body, but some of them are good bacteria. However, harmful bacteria can invade and infect an organ in your body. More often than not, antibiotics provide a cure.
Some of the infections that antibiotics can treat include:
- Some sinus and ear infections
- Strep throat
- Skin infections
- Dental infections
- Bacterial types of pneumonia
- Meningitis
- Kidney and bladder infections
It is vital to know the illnesses that antibiotics can cure. Antibiotics cure illnesses caused by bacterial infections. However, antibiotics are not effective for virus-related illnesses such as stomach flu, most sore throats, some bronchitis infections, most coughs, flu, and the common cold. The treatment for illnesses caused by viruses is antiviral drugs.
Some antibiotics are called ‘broad-spectrum,’ which means that the medicine works on various bacteria. However, you may encounter ‘narrow-spectrum’ antibiotics. These types of antibiotics kill a specific type of bacteria.
With the restricted mobility due to coronavirus, there no need to worry. You can buy antibiotics online here, so you do not have to go out.
Side effects of antibiotics
Your digestive system is full of good and bad bacteria, and taking antibiotics for your illness can affect your digestive system. You may experience some of the side effects of antibiotics, such as:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Abdominal pain
- Indigestion or bloating
- Diarrhoea
You may exhibit other symptoms, such as trouble breathing or tight throat, wheezing, coughing, or hives. These symptoms sometimes indicate that you are allergic to the antibiotic you are taking, so call your doctor immediately if you’re feeling some of these symptoms.
Resistance to antibiotics
Antibiotics are very effective in the treatment of bacteria when these are used safely and carefully. However, when antibiotics are overused, it can lead to antibacterial resistance. This is due to the characteristic of bacterial to adapt and turn into ”superbugs” or ”super bacteria.” Such an occurrence becomes a bigger threat because the current medicines will not be able to destroy them.
But you can help slow down the growth of super bacteria. It would be best if you trust your doctor when you are told that you do not need antibiotics. Remember that antibiotics cannot cure viral infections. You should also make sure that you only take the antibiotics prescribed by your doctor, follow your prescription and do not skip the doses. See to it that you take the antibiotics for the full number of days as directed by your physician.
To read more on topics like this, check out the Health category
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