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Throughout life, all beings are exposed to and infected to various pathogens such as fungi, bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Sometimes these infections can lead to diseases, and we all have been there.
That's when pharmacology comes in. We all at some point in our lives did take antibiotics but...
What are antibiotics?
Antibiotics come from the word antibiosis which means against life. So, antibiotics are designed to kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria.
The antibiotics can be classified into 10 groups:
Penicillin: treats skin, chest, and urinary tract infections.
Aminoglycosides: used in hospitals to treat severe infections including sepsis.
Cephalosporin: severe infections like sepsis and meningitis.
Macrolides: lung and chest infections. It is also used as a substitute for penicillin in the event of allergies or bacterial resistance.
Tetracyclines: treat acne and other skin disorders.
Quinolones: respiratory and urinary tract infections; these antibiotics are no longer used routinely due to the potential of major adverse effects.
Lincomycins: including pelvic inflammatory disease, intra-abdominal infections, lower respiratory tract infections, and bone and joint infections.
Sulfonamides treat urinary tract infections (UTIs), pneumocystis pneumonia, and ear infections (otitis media).
Carbapenems: stomach infections, pneumonia, kidney infections, multidrug-resistant hospital-acquired infections, and a variety of other dangerous bacterial disorders.
Glycopeptide: methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, complex skin infections, C. difficile-associated diarrhea, hospital-acquired pneumonia, and enterococcal infections such as endocarditis.
What is antibiotic resistance?
Bacteria are smart and along the way, they evolved by developing mechanisms that allow them to survive when exposed to antibiotics.
The global rise in antibiotic resistance poses a significant threat because bacteria can develop resistance, the extensive use of such medications will diminish the efficacy of common antibiotics.
The main points are:
Standard antibiotics cannot kill microorganisms that have developed resistance,
In case of antibiotic-resistant infection, it may not exist an alternative treatment,
The growth of resistant bacteria is promoted by taking unneeded antibiotics.
How to prevent resistance to antibiotics?
As said before antibiotics are only effective against bacteria, so they have no impact against viruses that cause the common cold of influenza. Applying such medication to diseases that do not require them leads to the development of antibiotic resistance.
In order to prevent this there are some things we should do:
Do not take antibiotics for situations where they are not required
Follow the prescribed antibiotic doses exactly. Do not skip any doses. Make sure to finish your full course of treatment even if you are feeling better.
Never take an antibiotic prescribed for someone else.
Reference
Felman, A. (2020, March 30). What to know about infections. Medicalnewstoday.com; Medical News Today. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/196271#:~:text=An%20infection%20occurs%20when%20a,from%20multiplying%20in%20the%20body.
World AMR Awareness Week. (2015). Who.int. https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-amr-awareness-week
Moore, D. W. (2024). Antibiotic Classification & Mechanism - Basic Science - Orthobullets. Orthobullets.com. https://www.orthobullets.com/basic-science/9059/antibiotic-classification-and-mechanism
(PDF) State of the Art on the Contribution of Water to Antimicrobial Resistance. (2018). ResearchGate. https://doi.org/10.2760//771124
Leigh Ann Anderson. (2011, November 22). Antibiotics 101. Drugs.com; Drugs.com. https://www.drugs.com/article/antibiotics.html
World. (2023, November 21). Antimicrobial resistance. Who.int; World Health Organization: WHO. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antimicrobial-resistance
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