Antibiotics are drugs that can kill microorganisms. The first antibiotic was received in 1928, and today these drugs more than 3 thousand, and even more of their beautiful trade names. How to understand all this, and is it worth it? Even if you don’t have to medicine nothing, to understand the basic principles of antibiotic therapy will be useful. So you will always understand the logic of the doctor’s appointments, and to harm themselves by haphazardly taking medications is less likely.
What are antibiotics
On the principle of action on microorganisms antibiotics are bacteriostatic and bactericidal.
It is an effective bactericidal drugs are killers. They are fully able to neutralize the bacteria, destroy them. The timing of taking these antibiotics are generally smaller than bactericidal.
Bacteriostatic not kill germs immediately, but will stop their reproduction, and their race is dying out. They need to take an average of about 10 days, lowering the dose. Otherwise, the probability of development of resistant bacteria and deterioration of the patient.
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The colonies of bacteria that grew on a nutrient medium of a hand print.
But this does not mean that bacteriostatic antibiotics bactericidal worse. Just for each drug has its own purpose, when their use is most effectively and safely. For example, in case of generalized form of meningococcal meningitis preferred the easiest chloramphenicol bacteriostatic antibiotic. The fact that in this form of the disease in the blood of a huge number of meningococci, and if they all die simultaneously, their dead carcasses will quickly start to decompose and poison the organism: infectious-toxic shock. From such complications of meningitis a person can die in a matter of hours.
There is a group of antibiotics that better accumulate in the lungs and prescribed for pneumonia, there are those that are primarily excreted via the urinary system, and therefore it is prescribed for kidney infections. And so on. By the same token, drugs are divided into antibiotics narrow and broad spectrum antibiotics.
Because when your doctor prescribes you an antibiotic, take the time to argue with him about the drug, remembering how quickly you the last time helped Amoxiclav: surely the doctor there is reason for choice.
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How to take antibiotics
Formally, the antibiotic should be appointed by those to which microorganisms, causing you disease the most sensitive. If it’s not some specific infection with typical symptoms and laboratory distinguishable pathogen, such as syphilis or gonorrhea, to comply with all ideally is not obtained. Analysis on sensitivity to antibiotics need to wait a few days, but remain without treatment at this time does not.
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The output of the invented simple: first designate a broad-spectrum antibiotic, and when they come the results of the sensitivity analysis changed to one that works best for specific microorganisms.
In many diseases there is no need to choose antibiotic narrow spectrum of action, and then the doctor changed his appointment.
Often no analysis on sensitivity to antibiotics is not prescribed, and check the action of the drug empirically: if symptoms of inflammation persist, return or appoint another broad-spectrum antibiotic.
If you were allergic to an antibiotic you must inform the doctor. Repeated allergic reaction can be stronger and cause a medical emergency.
To wash down the antibiotics better water. It is important that it was not tea with lemon, orange juice, fruit drinks: citrus can change the action of the antibiotic, as well as acidic fruits.
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Usually antibiotics take immediately before eating or immediately after eating. So decreasing their irritant effect on the gastric mucosa. At the time of admission and intervals you can always consult the manual, but the dosage prescribed by a doctor. The dosage of the antibiotic in the statement is not universal: it is common standards, which are adjusted by your doctor depending on circumstances.
Duration of medication you also can’t change arbitrarily. Premature removal of the antibiotic can cause the development of sustainable, tempered by medication, bacteria, with which the second time will be much more difficult to cope.
Why antibiotics do not cure the flu?
So: antibiotic flu no. Still, as it is not from any other virus. Viruses are micro-organisms, the logic of action of which does not resemble anything that lives on Earth. There is even a hypothesis that viruses are not earthly beings but aliens from outer space.
Bacteria according to their structure and way of life of the cell, and all vital processes in them are similar to processes of the cells of the body. Because we understand how to kill them: they like us.
Viruses are not, therefore, how to kill them, we don’t know.
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Many viruses after entering the body can be in an inactive state, hiding inside cells, and to give themselves unexpectedly. So, for example, enters the virus of Epstein-Barr.
Therefore, when the epidemic of flu, antibiotics are not in demand. All tend to buy antiviral drugs. Their effectiveness is questionable, but the flu medicine is for everyone. Because the flu season pharmacies have high profits.
Complications of flu can be the reason antibiotics: in the case when the background is low because the virus attacks the immune system multiply opportunistic bacteria that reside in the body. But always, in the period of complications of influenza especially, antibiotics are appointed only the doctor.
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