Antibiotics (or, more commonly, pus-drying drugs) are the most commonly prescribed medications today. An antibiotic is a drug that kills bacteria and other microscopic organisms that cause disease. The era of antibiotic use began around 1928 with the discovery of a type of penicillin by Alexander Fleming.
Today, there are over 100 different antibiotics that doctors use to treat minor ailments to life-threatening infections. Some of these drugs kill only a specific type of microscopic organism, while others kill a wide range of different types of bacteria.
Some researchers believe that antibiotics prevent oxygen from reaching pathogenic microbes, while others say that antibiotics prevent microbes from feeding on the body, thus causing the microbes to die from lack of nutrients. However, antibiotics, however they work, kill pathogens.
Uses of antibiotics
Although some antibiotics are effective against a wide range of infections, it is important to know that not all antibiotics can treat all infections, and they are only used against infections caused by pathogenic bacteria, fungi, and parasites, and are not effective against viral diseases such as colds and flu. Using antibiotics for viral diseases will not cure the infection, prevent the spread of the disease, or make the patient feel better. In addition, they may have dangerous side effects or cause antibiotic resistance to develop. Only a doctor can determine which antibiotic is effective for your condition from among the different types of antibiotics.
Resistance to antibiotics
Antibiotics help to keep life alive by fighting pathogens, but some bacteria become so strong that they can resist these drugs and as a result the drugs do not work well, this is called antibiotic resistance. The trend of developing resistance to antibiotics has continued over the past 60 years despite strict regulations on the use of these drugs. Because of the importance of this issue, the World Health Organization adopted the slogan in 2011, Antimicrobial Resistance: A Global Threat.
When antibiotics fail to work, the result is a longer and more complicated illness, requiring multiple doctor visits, more expensive and toxic medications, and potentially fatal resistant infections. Resistant bacteria can spread rapidly among family members, classmates, and coworkers, threatening the health of the community with a new strain of pathogen that is difficult and costly to treat.
Things to keep in mind about antibiotics :
1- If you have a viral illness, do not ask your doctor for antibiotics and complete the course of treatment even if you recover. Otherwise, the bacteria will not be completely eliminated and the remaining bacteria will cause a re-infection, which may become resistant this time and no longer respond to antibiotics.
2- Throw away any remaining medication and do not save it for the next day, as the prescribed antibiotic is particularly effective on that infection and has been prescribed only for you at that time.
3- Take the medicine at the times specified by your doctor or pharmacist and consult your doctor about the correct way to take antibiotics. Antibiotics will be effective when taken regularly.
4- Do not recommend your antibiotics to others even if your symptoms are the same, as they may not be suitable for their illness.
Unfortunately, the pace of development of newer drugs has slowed significantly, so it is necessary for doctors to avoid unnecessary prescription of these drugs in the future.
What is the best diet while taking antibiotics?
– Use multivitamins or fresh fruits and vegetables because antibiotics also kill the beneficial microbes in the body that play a role in the production of vitamins B and K.
– If you are prescribed antibiotics, be careful with iron and calcium, as these two substances interfere with the absorption of some antibiotics.
– Eating soup with antibiotics is the best food option. Carbonated drinks, chocolate, and sauces should be avoided.
– While taking antibiotics, avoid giving your child any dairy products other than yogurt.
When taking antibiotics, you should know that :
What are the side effects? What is the best time to take the medicine? After food or on an empty stomach? And does the antibiotic in question interact with other medications we are taking, such as birth control pills?
Antibiotics are amazing drugs that cure more than hundreds of infections. Since antibiotics have been used, infectious diseases can no longer threaten human health. In fact, one of the most important health problems in society today is the arbitrary use of drugs and resistance to antibiotics.
This issue seriously threatens the health of people with simple infections because the arbitrary and inappropriate use of antibiotics in the past has rendered these drugs ineffective.
In Iran, 4 of the 10 most commonly used drugs in the country are antibiotics, and 49 percent of doctors’ prescriptions in the country include an antibiotic. Also, 40 percent of Iranians take drugs without a prescription or doctor’s prescription, which not only does not cure the disease, but also has other side effects for the patient. So let’s take advantage of the benefits of antibiotics, which are one of the most useful achievements of human knowledge, by using them correctly and instead of them, and avoid the unpleasant side effects of taking drugs without a doctor’s prescription.
