stay healthy: antibiotics
One of the greatest medical inventions of all time is antibiotics. Back in the days when people were just beginning to settle in the United States death rates were high due to illness and lack of available treatments. The treatments that could have saved the lives of many were not yet invented. Then, one day in 1928, a professor by the name of Alexander Fleming made the discovery of Penicillin. Though he failed to get this first antibiotic stabilized, it was the first step in the right direction of creating a drug that would end up being a life saver. Then, in 1940, pathologists Howard Florey and Ernst Chain did stabilize it while performing work at Oxford University. This new miracle drug spawned many other types of antibiotics that range from weak to super strong and battle a large array of illnesses that people would have otherwise died from.
While antibiotics are medicine’s most important discovery, they do not work for all illnesses and they won’t work if not taken as directed or taken too often. This type of medication is one that works to kill bacteria causing infections. Examples of these are urinary tract infections, strep throat, sinus infections, ear infections and upper respiratory tract infections. While bacterial infections will die off when treated with antibiotics, viral infections will not. Illnesses such as the common cold, the flu and a simple sore throat will not be affected by a course of antibiotic drugs. In the case of a viral infection, all you can do is wait it out and take comfort measures. When you seek treatment from your doctor, he or she will decide if you have a bacterial or viral infection. If it is bacterial then your doctor will then decide which antibiotic is the right one to choose for the infection you are experiencing. While most antibiotics will work to a degree on all bacteria, there are some that are tailor fit to certain illnesses and made to target specific bacteria. This is why it is so important to seek medical treatment when you are sick and not just take any old antibiotic you may have at home from a previous illness.
When it comes to antibiotics, you must keep in mind that just because you are taking them does not mean you will get better. Many people
who are prescribed antibiotics begin taking them and then once they feel better they stop. This is one of the most common medical mistakes people make. There is a reason that your doctor tells you to finish the entire dose of medication even if you begin to feel better. There is good reason that the prescription bottle states to make sure you take the medication until it is gone. Antibiotics work remarkably well but only if they are used correctly. Just because you feel better does not mean that you are better. When the antibiotics enter your system, it is as if they are battling with the bacterial germs. When the antibiotics are winning, the germs become weaker and fewer which make our bodies feel better again. If we stop taking the recommended dosage of the medication it is like pulling out an army halfway through a war; it gives the enemy a chance to regroup and build up more strength. So, if you take 6 days’ worth of your antibiotic when you were directed to complete the whole ten day treatment, you are putting yourself at risk for redeveloping the symptoms that put you on the antibiotics in the first place. Even worse, you may need to be put on a different antibiotic because the bacteria in your body was given the chance to overthrow the first doses and that particular bacteria may now be immune to the previous antibiotic, which takes us on to the next point about these medications.
While taking an antibiotic that is prescribed by your doctor is very important, taking one for something minor or taking one without it being prescribed, is just as bad as stopping treatment too soon. For instance, if you have a minor skin rash and you demand that your doctor put you on an antibiotic to clear it up, you are doing yourself a major disservice. Minor bacterial infections will typically clear up on their own or
with the help of over the counter aides such as Neosporin cream or any other type of ointment containing low doses of antibiotics. By taking a prescribed antibiotic for something that is minor, you are slowly building up your systems immunity to it. Once your body is immune to a particular antibiotic it will never again get rid of a bacterial infection in your body. The same thing goes for taking antibiotics that you have leftover from a previous illness. (As discussed above, this should never occur as you should always take the entire dosage of your medication and therefore should not have any leftovers.) Take for example, a man who wakes up one morning with a painful sore throat. It may or may not be a bacterial infection but to be on the safe side, he goes to his medicine cabinet and takes out a bottle containing half of an antibiotic prescription that he was given a few months back to treat strep. He takes the medication for a few days and fells his throat getting better. Did he begin to feel better because his sore throat was due to strep or because it was a simple viral infection that was clearing up on its own? We will never know the answer to that, but what we do know is that by taking an antibiotic without being diagnosed as having needed one this person has just built up some immunity to it. Because of this, the type of antibiotic he took may not work as well on bacterial infections he may have in the future. Also keep in mind that even if you feel horrible and think that you should have an antibiotic to clear up your illness, do not pressure your doctor to give you one. If he or she concludes that an antibiotic is not required to treat your illness do not argue that you want one anyway. They are the professionals and know what will work best to get you feeling better.
Now that you have a better understanding about antibiotic drugs, keep the information in mind next time you are sick. If you are feeling under the weather, do not attempt to diagnose or self-medicate. You may be doing more harm than good. If your doctor tells you to take the medication for 10 days then be sure to take the medication for 10 days. Taking it for 5 days and calling it quits is the worst thing you can do for your health. If you remember these rules of antibiotic use you will be able to continue reaping the benefits of the greatest drug ever invented.