Did you know?
Penicillin is the first ever antibiotic to be made: it was discovered by Alexander Fleming and is originally obtained from a fungus called mold.
Antibiotics can be mentioned as one of the most famous medications globally. Amoxicillin, followed by ciprofloxacin and metronidazole are the most prescribed antibiotics.
So, what exactly are antibiotics?
These are medications against bacteria; they either kill or inhibit their growth. In addition to being well-known, they are the best preventative measures against infectious diseases, which were the main cause of death prior to their discovery. Due to their crucial function in sepsis and other illnesses that pose a serious threat to life, their use has persisted to this day.
However, due to the rising usage of antibiotics, we are now confronted with a problem: the hazardous rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The future ability to control prevalent infectious diseases including pneumonia, TB, and other foodborne illnesses is being called into question by new bacterial resistance tactics that are developing and spreading. This transports us to a post-antibiotic time, where simple diseases and minor wounds might once again result in death.
Due to this problem, I felt obligated to write this article; it is important to possess some useful knowledge to mitigate this issue. Here are the main safety measures that everyone needs to be aware of.
1) Antibiotics work effectively on bacteria only: taking antibiotics for other infections like the common cold, flu, some bronchitis infections, and most sore throats caused by viruses does more harm than good by putting you at risk for antibiotic-resistant infections.
Antibiotics won’t work to treat them!!!
2) There’s no one antibiotic for every bacterium: there are multiple bacteria requiring different kinds of antibiotics. It is important to choose the best-suited antibiotic for the specific bacteria.
3) Always finish the prescribed antibiotic: even if you might feel better there might be leftovers that have a possibility of developing resistance.
4) Don’t take antibiotics too much: Let's avoid antibiotics when we don’t need them!
I would like to conclude this post by with this piece of advice “You should always ask doctors or health professionals before taking any antibiotics and take them exactly as ordered.”
Sources
· Yimenu DK, Emam A, Elemineh E, Atalay W. Assessment of Antibiotic Prescribing Patterns at Outpatient Pharmacy Using World Health Organization Prescribing Indicators. J Prim Care Community Health. 2019 Jan-Dec;10:2150132719886942. doi: 10.1177/2150132719886942. PMID: 31690162; PMCID: PMC6836303. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6836303/#:~:text=Amoxicillin%20(28.5%25)%20followed%20by,%25%20and%2096%25%2C%20respectively)
· WHO, 31, July, 2020
· WebMD
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