Anti-Biotics

When you’re sick, you’re more likely to try to get something to help you to feel better.

A lot of common illnesses and conditions such as the common cold, headaches or muscle aches can be treated by over-the-counter medications which can help you to manage your symptoms until your body heals on its own.

What about the situations where you have to treat a condition that cannot be treated with the over the counter products? This is the role where antibiotics can intervene.

Continue reading for the details on what they are, when they’re used and what side effects you might encounter when you take them.

What Antibiotics Are Used For

Antibiotics are the most potent medicines that are used to treat a range of bacterial diseases and infections.

Most of the bacteria in your body are harmless, but some of them cause health problems and thus need to be treated with antibiotics.

Antibiotics play only a curative role against bacterial infections.

Common Types Of Antibiotics And What They Treat

Antibiotics are used for treatment and prevention of bacterial infections of various kinds.

A class of antibiotics called narrow-spectrum antibiotics targets a limited spectrum of bacteria, but the other kinds, referred to as broad-spectrum antibiotics, are effective against a wide range of bacteria that cause common illnesses.

Antibiotics For Ear Infections

Not all ear infections require antibiotics. 

Nevertheless, they are necessary in cases of ear infections which are severe and persistent as their symptoms might last for more than two or three days. 

Typical antibiotics, which are used to treat ear infections, include amoxicillin and amoxicillin/clavulanate (Augmentin). 

These antibiotics start working right away but you may not feel better for a day or two after starting treatment.

In many cases, your body’s immune system may be able to fight off a minor middle ear infection and heal without needing antibiotics, so your doctor may suggest:

Monitoring – The doctor may recommend that you observe the situation for a few days to find out if the symptoms go on their own with the aid of over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen or acetaminophen to reduce pain, as well as extra fluids and enough rest.

Trial-before-treatment – Your doctor may prescribe the antibiotic but tell you to wait for a few days before taking the medication to see if the infection gets better on its own.

Antibiotics And Strep Throat

The most common antibiotics given to patients with strep throat are penicillin and amoxicillin. 

The antibiotics will start working as soon as they are taken, but it may be another day or so before you begin to feel better after treatment. 

Strep throat is an illness that should be treated with antibiotics. 

If the disease is not treated it can result in complications such as sinus and tonsil infections, kidney problems and rheumatic fever.

The Antibiotics That Are Prescribed For Bacterial Sinus Infections.

One of the early symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections such as common cold is the sinus inflammation. 

This is why it is possible that you have a feeling of a sinus infection when you don’t. 

In that case, you might only need some over the counter pain killers or a doctor recommended nasal spray to help cope up with sinus symptoms.

However, in case your doctor diagnoses you with a bacterial sinus condition, he or she may prescribe antibiotics to help you deal with it. 

The most popular antibiotics for the treatment of sinus infections are amoxicillin-clavulanate (Augmentin) and doxycycline. 

Whether to use antibiotics or not will be determined by your doctor in the case of your sinus infection. 

The fact that they start working as soon as you start the treatment but you may not feel better until a few days after the treatment is yet another case in point.

Besides, some sinus infections that are not so serious may heal without antibiotics. 

However, if your symptoms recur for more than 10 days and do not get better or your fever lasts longer than three days or your symptoms get worse, you may need an antibiotic to cure your illness.

Antibiotics for the urinary tract infections (UTI).

The common antibiotics that are given to treat UTIs are cephalexin and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim. 

Similarly to most antibiotics, they will directly attack your UTI, but you may not start feeling better for another couple of days after starting the treatment.

For the UTI which is not complicated and happens when you are healthy, your doctor may prescribe 1-3 days of antibiotics, but in case the infection is not cured within this period, your doctor may prescribe a more extended course of antibiotics (1 week or more). 

However, they should not be a substitute for doctor’s treatment, there are some home remedies that can help you prevent a UTI and also improve your symptoms.

How Antibiotics Work

Antibiotics, in general, kill or stop from multiplying the bad bacteria that causes infection.

Different antibiotics work in different manner. 

For instance, some antibiotics are designed to destroy a bacterial cell's walls, and others are made to affect the way the bacterial cell functions. 

The antibiotic which a doctor prescribes is most often decided by the result of a test that determines the type of bacteria causing an infection and how the bacteria react to certain infections.

Taking antibiotics:

There are different ways that antibiotics are taken. 

Your doctor will decide on the best treatment option for you depending on your health and condition.

These include tablets, capsules and liquids that are meant to cover mild to moderate infections in the body.

Topical administration – This is mostly in the form of lotions, sprays or drops, and topical antibiotics are often used to treat skin, eye and ear infections.

Injection or intravenous (IV) – They are usually used for more serious infections.

Common Side Effects Of Antibiotics

Just like any other medication, there are some side effects of taking antibiotics.

The bacteria in your body can be divided into good and bad. 

Antibiotics, on the other hand, are used to kill the bad bacteria behind the illness. 

However, this can also lead to the death of bad bacteria at the same time.

Generally, your gut bacteria are the ones that the antibiotics target in most cases. 

This can result in abdominal pain and the following symptoms:

• Nausea
• Cramps
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Bloating or indigestion

Changing The Way We Use Antibiotics

As well as the idea of developing new antibiotics, we should also think of ways to slow down the speed of resistance.

The best way to achieve this is through the wise and selective use of existing antibiotics – we should only prescribe them when they are “necessary”.

So, the question becomes when do antibiotics become necessary and therefore required? It is usually not easy to determine this because by the time tests prove a bacterial infection (as opposed to a virus or other disease process) the patient is too ill to recover even if the right antib Furthermore, the isolation of bacteria is not always successful and thus a bacterial infection may never be demonstrated.

Should we give antibiotics early and possibly fail to target the correct kind of bacteria, thus increasing the probability of resistance if we are wrong but saving the patient if we are right? It is no wonder that the new medicine is being over-used with a risk of it being fatal to hold back from treatment.

How Do I Know If I Need An Antibiotic?

A healthcare provider is the only person who can decide if an antibiotic would be the right thing for you.

In some cases, the bacterial infections will recover without any medication, thus, no antibiotic is needed. 

Make an appointment with your primary care provider either in person or online if you are not feeling well.