Antibiotics have been successfully healing for over half a century. However, antibiotics should be used wisely so as not to hurt yourself. If used improperly, they make the bacteria resistant to antibiotics and can also cause mycosis and diarrhea.
Scientists warn against a dangerous phenomenon - antibiotic resistance. More and more strains ofbacteriabecome resistant to the effects of these preparations. This means that we may find ourselves in a situation from 50 years ago, when there was no way to effectively treat many diseases. Why did this happen? Among the main reasons for this is the excessive use ofantibioticsby physicians and inappropriate use by patients.
When is the antibiotic?
The term "antibiotic" has been reserved by medicine for compounds that inhibit the multiplication or kill pathogenic microorganisms, mainly bacteria. Although there are also some that are effective in destroying fungi and protozoa. However, no antibiotic can killviruses . Antibiotics are most often administered in streptococcal angina, pneumonia and inflammation of the middle ear, sinuses, meninges, kidneys, bladder and urinary tract, as well as tuberculosis, boils, and venereal diseases (syphilis, gonorrhea). Some antibiotics prevent microbes from reproducing, while others interfere with the life processes inside the bacteria and prevent them from surviving. They only damage the cells of bacteria, but not our body. Some of them act simultaneously on many types of bacteria - these are broad-spectrum antibiotics (e.g. cephalosporins, amoxicillin with clavulonic acid, tetracyclines). Others fight only certain types of microorganisms - this is how penicillin, for example, is administered when infected with Streptococcus bacteria. To avoid the undesirable effects of antibiotic therapy, the preparations must be really well selected. Then they are effective and the treatment does not have to be long.
Antibiotics: what can an antibiogram
Before issuing a prescription, the safest thing to do is for the doctor to make sure what type of bacteria is the culprit of the infection and choose a preparation that destroys these microorganisms. For this purpose, the so-called antibiogram. It consists in taking a sample from the place where the bacterial infection is taking place (e.g. throat tarnish or nasal discharge). Then a microbiological test is performed, inwhich isolates the microorganism responsible for the development of the disease and tests its sensitivity to various antibiotics. Based on this, your doctor can prescribe a medicine that best deals with that particular strain of bacteria. Unfortunately, marking pathogenic microorganisms as "sensitive" to a given type of antibiotic in an antibiotic does not prejudge the effectiveness of a given drug. Due to errors (e.g. poorly secured test sample), approx. 20 percent. are false positive or false negative results. Sometimes the disease is caused by a virus, although some bacteria have been found in the sample taken. If, on this basis, the doctor prescribes an antibiotic, it will not bring improvement, as it will not destroy the virus, that is, the real culprit of the disease. A swab taken from the nose, throat or genital tract shows only what bacteria are in the material taken for the test. But they are not always the culprits of the disease. There are also other limitations. It is not always possible to wait for the result of the antibiogram (it usually takes several days). When a medication needs to be administered quickly, the physician may use the developed, e.g. as part of the so-called Alexander project, recommendation: in which diseases which antibiotics are usually effective and which are not. Only if there is no improvement, it is necessary to modify the treatment, taking into account the antibiogram. It should also be remembered that an antibiogram always applies to the disease we are suffering from. The test must be repeated the next time you become infected.
ImportantTop secret penicillin
The invention of the first antibiotic - penicillin - was decided by chance. Alexander Fleming has been researching substances that could defeat bacteria for many years. In 1928, after returning from vacation, he noticed that someone had not washed some of the dishes with bacteria cultures that were no longer useful. He noticed that one of the plates had grown mold in addition to the bacterial colonies around which there were no bacteria. They disappeared because of the first penicillin. Unfortunately, Fleming was unable to "sell" his discovery. 10 years later, a group of English specialists continued their work and obtained the drug in its pure form. Purified penicillin was tested on humans in 1941. Two more years had passed before the big concerns became interested in the discovery. It was not until 1943 that the USA launched the production of the drug on an industrial scale. The war was ongoing and the miraculous drug was classified as "top secret".
Probiotics
Antibiotics deal effectively with pathogenic microorganisms, but sometimes they also destroy good bacteria that protect our he alth. For example, intestinal, thanks to which we digest properly, or Doderlein sticks living in the vagina that keep the acidicenvironment and protecting against infections of the intimate parts. So it happens that vaginal mycosis appears after antibiotic therapy. In order to avoid it, a woman with such tendency should use vaginal globules (eg Nystatin) together with the antibiotic. Probiotics, i.e. live microorganisms (good bacteria), which, when consumed, have a positive effect on our body, can help with diarrhea. Probiotics incl. they seal the walls of the epithelium (e.g. intestines) to prevent harmful substances from entering the blood. In addition, they "communicate" with our immune system (defense system) to mobilize more lymphocytes - cells that destroy bacteria to fight the disease. People who suffer from mycosis, after such drugs should reach for pharmaceuticals (e.g. capsules) in which probiotics are in condensed form. But probiotic yoghurts containing strains of beneficial bacteria also have protective properties. Such yoghurts should be consumed by everyone who takes antibiotics.
Leave vitamins for later
It happens that the longer use of antibiotics weakens the body. Fearing avitaminosis, we reach for multivitamin supplements. Meanwhile, there are no studies that would confirm the rightness of such behavior, or those that would prove that we are doing ourselves a lot of harm. The problem is complex. By taking vitamins, we support the immune system, but also… we feed bacteria! There are some that need vitamins for their development. Therefore, it is better to wait with their supplementation and take them during the convalescence period, i.e. after finishing taking the prescribed amount of the antibiotic. If you have an appetite during treatment, it is better to support your body by eating more fresh vegetables and fruits than usual.
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