Inside penicillins should be taken with a large volume of liquid (water, mineral water without gas). Ampicillin and oxacillin should be taken 1 hour before meals or 2 hours after meals, phenoxymethylpenicillin, amoxicillin and amoxicillin (clavulanate) – regardless of food intake.
It is necessary to strictly observe the regimen prescribed by the doctor during the entire course of treatment, do not miss taking the drug and take it at regular intervals. If for some reason you missed the time of taking the drug, then it is not recommended to double the dose of the drug in the next hour of taking it. Try to withstand the entire treatment course for the benefit of the body. Do not use drugs that have expired or decomposed, as they may have a toxic effect. Be sure to consult your doctor if the improvement does not occur within a few days and new symptoms appear. If a rash, urticaria or other signs of an allergic reaction appear, you should immediately stop taking the antibiotic and consult a doctor. The way out of this situation seems to be obvious-the search for new types of antibiotics, but penicillin is still considered one of the least toxic biologically active substances. According to experts, only a miracle equivalent to the invention of penicillin can push it in the world of antibiotics. Next, we will talk about the pros and cons of the results of this search. One way or another, but with the discovery of penicillin and other antibiotics, there is a real possibility of effective treatment of most known diseases caused by microbes. Previously, a number of diseases were considered incurable, some diagnoses sounded like a death sentence.
A striking example is the plague – a real scourge of humanity since ancient times. In the ancient historian Thucydides we find a description of the”Athenian pestilence”. The Bible in the book of Deuteronomy says: “do not eat the camel, the hare, or the jerboa, for they are unclean to you; do not eat their flesh, and do not touch their corpses.” It is obvious to the doctor that this ban can be aimed, among other things, at preventing alimentary and vector-borne infection with the plague. Another prohibition that we find in the Bible: “… do not eat a pig, because it is unclean to you” – was associated with the prevention of trichinosis, an equally serious infectious disease that led in Biblical times to serious consequences, up to death. However, this may also be due to the fact that the pig is not a nomadic animal, and the ancient Jews were nomads. Plague and other infectious diseases were rampant not only in Europe, but also in Japan, as well as in the Middle East.
Tuberculosis and non-specific lung diseases affected mainly segments of the population with a low standard of living, which can be observed today.
This is due to a meager diet, with a low protein content in principle. However, people from the upper strata of society were not spared these diseases. Treatment was limited to trips to resorts and increased nutrition. As a result, an exceptionally high mortality rate, approaching 100 %. You don’t need to be an expert to see a drastic change in the current situation. Of course, now in our country the issue with the incidence of tuberculosis is quite acute. Well, antibiotics are antibiotics, and tuberculosis is a social disease, so it’s too early to celebrate the victory.
The therapeutic effect of an antibiotic is determined by its activity in relation to the causative agent of the disease. The defining characteristic when choosing an antibiotic that is most effective in a particular case is the spectrum of its antibacterial action. As a rule, the doctor is faced with the need to choose the optimal drug among a number of antibiotics that are close in the spectrum of action; otherwise, the treatment will be ineffective at best, and even harmful to the patient. You can imagine what a medical error can lead to. Dysbiosis, accompanied by frequent trips to the toilet, is not the worst option. The death of the normal microflora of the body is quite high, but often an inevitable price that we pay for the expulsion of”small aggressors”. Antibiotics do not choose between beneficial and pathogenic microbes. If a microorganism enters the area of action of an antibiotic, it will be destroyed regardless of whether it was harmful or useful. The main sources of antibiotics are microscopic fungi and some types of bacteria, from which several thousand have been isolated, and more than 6000 antibiotic substances have been described. Sometimes it is very unpleasant to find out what we, in fact, are treated with. But the main problem is that most antibiotics are dangerous not only for pathogens, but also for the human body. In this regard, only those types of antibiotics that meet the following requirements are used for treatment:
- Low toxicity to the human body.
- High antimicrobial activity.
- Stability in biological environments.
As a result, only about 50 antibiotic drugs were widely used in medicine.Side effects when using antibiotics. Diseases are caused by microorganisms, which for a long time remained the punishment of all mankind. After it was proved that infectious diseases are caused by pathogens, there were no good antibacterial agents for almost 100 years. The drugs used for these purposes were characterized by toxicity and low efficiency. Only in the 1930s. sulfonamide preparations were synthesized, and 10 years later – antibiotics. Antibiotics came into our lives as a means of getting rid of infections. The appearance of these drugs made a counter-revolution in medicine, as doctors for the first time acquired the ability to treat infectious diseases more effectively. However, as soon as new powerful drugs appeared, they began to be referred to as “weapons of mass destruction that kill all living things.” With the best of intentions, to cure more, faster, more effectively, doctors prescribed antibacterial medications whenever and wherever there was a hint of infection. The habit of some doctors to prescribe antibiotics for any reason played a cruel joke. Almost immediately, there were sudden problems, such as the development of resistance in bacteria, the appearance of undesirable side effects (allergies, dysbiosis). A disturbed balance in the environment of microorganisms leads to a weakening of the immune system and excessive reproduction of not entirely harmless single-celled fungi. This clinical picture can be observed after long-term administration of broad-spectrum antibiotics. In the process of improving the drugs, it turned out that the resulting drug kills only the most sensitive bacteria to it. And the most powerful of them survive because a mutation has occurred in their cells. It turns out that the number of microorganisms resistant to antibacterial drugs is replenished daily.
This forces scientists to create more and more new drugs designed for new strains. This contributed to the emergence of various misconceptions, myths about antibacterial drugs. According to American scientists, in every second case, antibiotics are taken unnecessarily or in the absence of recommendations for them. British doctors decided to severely limit the mass consumption of antibiotics. For some time now, they are forbidden to prescribe antibacterial drugs for colds, coughs, acute respiratory infections, mild gastrointestinal disorders and other non-serious diseases. If it is impossible to do without a course of antibiotic therapy, then try to prescribe minimum doses of drugs and limit the intake to 3-4 days, whereas before the course lasted from a week or more. Currently, there are hundreds of medicines that act selectively on pathogens of various diseases. Despite the fact that in the medical literature the term “antibiotic” is often used in relation to all antimicrobial agents, genuine antibiotics are drugs formed by microorganisms or obtained by semi-synthetic methods. The active components of these drugs cause either death or suspension of the growth of pathogenic microorganisms, bacteria and some protozoa. In addition to antibiotics, there are entirely synthetic antibacterial agents (sulfonamides, nitrofuran preparations, etc.). Such drugs as biseptol, furacilin, furazolidone, metronidazole, palin, nitroxoline, nevigramon, are not antibiotics. They differ from true antibiotics in their mechanisms of action on microbes, as well as in their effectiveness and overall effect on the human body. It is believed that antibiotics can cure any infectious disease, because their effectiveness is proven in the treatment of serious diseases, and in the treatment of such simple diseases as runny nose or acne.
This myth is very common, however, antibiotics can not cure viral and some other infectious diseases. Since most colds and acute respiratory infections are viral, it makes absolutely no sense to fight them with antibiotics. Viruses cause diseases such as influenza, measles, rubella, chickenpox, mumps (mumps), infectious mononucleosis, hepatitis A, B, C and many others. In all of the above diseases, as well as in acute respiratory infections, antibiotics can be prescribed after the appearance of any bacterial complications, i.e. if there is a secondary infection, and the main treatment is carried out with drugs of other groups (immunoglobulin drugs, antiviral agents). Antibiotics also do not affect such pathogens of infectious diseases as fungi (yeast-like fungi of the genus candida, causing thrush, etc.), protozoa (amoebas, giardia) and worms. It is known that diphtheria, botulism, tetanus develop after bacterial toxins enter the internal environment of the body, as a result, the main treatment is the introduction of antitoxic serums, without which the disease can end in death even when using antibacterial therapy. Of acute infectious diseases, the appointment of antibiotics is most often required for pyelonephritis, angina and pneumonia, as well as for infectious inflammation localized in closed cavities (such as otitis, sinusitis, osteomyelitis, abscess, phlegmon). Without antibiotic treatment of acute diseases (pneumonia, sinusitis, etc.), chronic sluggish diseases (chronic pneumonia, chronic sinusitis, chronic urinary tract infection) are formed. In pyelonephritis, antibiotics are prescribed only during the period of exacerbation, after which synthetic antibacterial agents (furagin, nitroxoline, palin, etc.) and phytotherapy are used. Quite often it is necessary to prescribe antibiotics to people after surgical interventions. In some cases, serious complications often develop without the use of antibiotics. For example, after a sore throat that is not treated with antibiotics, heart damage (rheumatism, myocarditis) and kidney damage (glomerulonephritis) may occur. The use of antibiotics for the treatment of intestinal dysbiosis is highly undesirable due to the negative impact of these drugs on the normal intestinal microflora and their inhibition of intestinal immunity functions. Since the scope of antibiotics is rapidly progressing infections or bacterial infection of vital organs, with which the immune system is not able to cope on its own, antibiotics are extremely harmful to the body, they should not be abused in any case. Many refuse to take antibiotics prescribed by a doctor, even in a serious condition.
Side effects of antibiotics. All medications, including antibiotics, have side effects. The same drug can save the life of one person, and for another it can be extremely dangerous. Self-treatment with antibiotics is not allowed, since the wrong drug contributes to the development of side effects and toxic effects. When prescribing a particular antibiotic, the doctor is invariably guided by the age and general condition of the patient, the presence of concomitant diseases. The dosage of the drug does not always correspond to the one presented in the abstract, since these recommendations are designed for average, not personal parameters. The exact duration of antibiotic treatment is also of great importance. Quite often, the antibiotic is independently canceled after one or two days of treatment, as soon as it becomes easier. However, the body can not cope with the infection on its own, the disease goes into a sluggish form, can be complicated by lesions of the heart, kidneys, etc. In addition, due to premature withdrawal of the antibiotic, new resistant strains of bacteria are born, and in the future its reception is already fruitless. But, on the other hand, if the antibiotic is taken longer than the prescribed time, despite the lack of effect, the risk of developing dysbiosis or allergies increases. Most often, prolonged use of antibiotics is accompanied by stomach disorders and fungal infections, allergic reactions. Therefore, as a rule, antihistamines are prescribed simultaneously with an antibiotic. Allergic reactions are usually neutralized by suprastin, tavegil and other anti-allergic agents. However, the side effects of taking antibiotics are not limited to allergies and upset stomach. Medications in some cases provoke nausea, vomiting, and in women – the growth of fungal flora in the vagina. They inhibit the beneficial micro-organisms that produce local immunity. And when the immune system is suppressed, the fungi begin to multiply intensively. In dentistry, antibiotics are most often prescribed for endodontic interventions, periodontal diseases and maxillofacial surgery. The most well – known antibiotics are penicillin or its analogues, especially amoxicillin. Infectious diseases during pregnancy and in the postpartum period are dangerous, as they can cause harm not only to the mother, but also to the child. Infections in the early stages of pregnancy, along with chromosomal and immunological diseases, are the cause of abortions. In the second or third trimesters, they can become the main cause of premature labor, premature rupture of the fetal membranes and associated prematurity and diseases of newborns. Most pregnant women refrain from taking antibiotics. The fact that this drug has a number of side effects and can be taken only for strict indications, patients learn mainly from the applications for use or from the annotations.
Antibiotics should be washed down with a large amount of liquid, it is not recommended to use drugs with an expired expiration date, as they can have a toxic effect on the body.