A global discovery and a panacea for mankind has become antibacterial drugs based on antibiotics. Their appearance helped to significantly reduce the mortality rate from many diseases, including those that were severe and incurable. Today, the opinions of experts are divided: the benefit or harm of antibiotics should be given priority when choosing a therapeutic regimen.
The effect of antibacterial drugs
The fact that a person lives in a world of bacteria has long been known. Many microorganisms have a beneficial effect on the life of people, but they can also harm, especially those. which are able to penetrate the body. Antibiotics can inflict a strong blow to pathogenic bacteria. These strains of microorganisms were isolated precisely for this purpose and proved their effectiveness in practice.
With the help of antimicrobial drugs , complex, almost fatal pathologies, including sepsis, pneumonia, and meningococcal infections, are successfully cured. But along with the undeniable benefits, the harm of antibiotics to the body is also obvious and manifests itself in aggressive intervention not only in the vital activity of pathogenic microbes, but also in the total elimination of beneficial microflora, especially the intestines.
Particularly difficult consequences, experts consider:
- irritation of the mucous membranes of the stomach and intestines;
- complex imbalances in the digestive tract microflora;
- violations in the work of the kidneys, liver, gall bladder;
- severe allergic reactions;
- disorders of the nervous system, manifested in vestibular disorders.
Uncontrolled intake of antibacterial drugs
The wide popularity of antibacterial drugs and their undeniable effectiveness have led many patients to practice uncontrolled use of antibiotics. Particularly often, cases of self-medication were recorded among people who successfully make careers and do not have time for a full examination and correction of the treatment regimen. To quickly get rid of the symptoms of the disease, the patient begins to take antibiotics on his own, harm and benefit are completely not taken into account.
Pathological conditions that are caused by viruses cannot be treated with antibacterial drugs, so the doctor should decide on antibiotic therapy based on the nature of the pathological process. Uncontrolled use of antibiotics in such cases will not only not bring benefits, but can cause irreparable harm to the body.
Indications for antibiotic treatment
Antibiotic therapy is considered appropriate for the following diseases:
- Bacterial pathological processes of the nasopharynx: sinusitis, sinusitis, tonsillitis, diphtheria.
- Infectious pathologies of the skin and mucous membranes.
- Complex diseases of the respiratory system: deep and protracted bronchitis, pneumonia.
- Infections of the genitourinary system caused by various pathogens and bacterial agents.
- Renal pathological processes.
- Intestinal dysfunctions of a bacterial nature.
In the treatment of viral infections, antibiotics are prescribed only if the disease is complicated by the joined bacterial infection, and the harm of antibiotics is comparable to the lower benefit to the body as a whole.
Safe Admission Rules
In order for treatment with antibacterial drugs to be as effective as possible and not cause complications, experts have developed a number of recommendations on how to take antibiotics without harm to health:
- When taking an antibacterial drug, the dosage prescribed by the doctor should be strictly observed. In the pharmacy network, the range of drugs is wide enough, therefore, when acquiring an antibiotic, it is worth following its dosage.
- Before taking it, you should further carefully study the instructions, since the list of contraindications may include a history of pathologies that the attending doctor did not take into account.
- It is not necessary to practice taking antibacterial drugs on an empty stomach, since the harm of antibiotics to the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines is a long-proven fact.
- The medicine should be washed down with a sufficient amount of water - this will minimize the destructive effect of agents on the mucosa.
Exceptions and Additions to the Rules of Treatment
In order for the therapy with antibacterial drugs to be effective and not cause damage to health, experts recommend taking into account a number of exceptions and additives to the treatment.
- Alcohol, taking sorbents and blood thinning medications for the period of antibiotic therapy is excluded.
- Against the background of an improvement in the condition and the removal of symptoms of pathology, one should not arbitrarily stop taking, since bacteria not completely suppressed will quickly develop resistance to the drug, and further treatment will be ineffective.
- The harm of taking antibiotics is minimized by using probiotics, drugs with lactobacilli. Doctors prescribe to their patients a scheme according to which these drugs should be taken for the entire period of treatment and some time after the end of therapy.
- Since antibacterial agents can inhibit the immune system, when using antibiotics, do not forget about taking immunomodulators and vitamin complexes.
Antibiotic treatment for children
Children's illnesses and infections scare parents, so they are ready to get rid of them as quickly and efficiently as possible, which is why doctors are asking doctors to prescribe antibacterial drugs, despite the known harm of antibiotics to children.
Some childhood diseases, indeed, can only be treated with antibacterial effects. Doctors practice antibiotic therapy in the treatment of childhood diseases in the following cases:
- with angina;
- otitis media;
- pneumonia and severe bronchitis;
- inflammatory pathologies of the urinary system.
Rules for treating babies
The pediatrician takes the question of treating the baby with antibiotics, he also selects the therapeutic drug and dosage for the small patient, discusses with parents the question of how to take antibiotics correctly without harm to the child's body.
- It is important to strictly observe the dosage and frequency of administration of the drug prescribed by the doctor.
- The recommended antibiotic duration should be observed.
- Antibiotics are not given to the baby at the same time as antihistamines.
- The diet and principles of feeding the child recommended by the doctor during treatment should be strictly observed.
Risk of side effects
Do not ignore the side effects that cause antibiotics. The harm to the body manifests itself against the background of the fact that antimicrobial drugs are designed to specifically target pathogenic bacteria, while their effect on beneficial microflora is not ruled out.
When prescribing antibiotics to their patients, doctors take into account the possible negative consequences of their intake on the body, which may occur:
- in severe fetal malformations in pregnant women, especially in the first two trimesters of pregnancy;
- in health problems and intestinal microflora in infants whose mothers are taking antibiotics;
- in severe allergic reactions in the form of rash, itching, swelling;
- in cerebral disorders, dysfunctions of the vestibular apparatus;
- in malfunctions of the liver, gall bladder, biliary dysfunctions.
Doctors also diagnose their patients with endocrine disruptions while taking antibiotics and steroid drugs. Complex immune system failures can also trigger antibiotics. The harm and benefits of treatment with such drugs must be taken into account by the attending doctor, therefore, the decision on the tactics of therapy should be entrusted to specialists, avoiding self-medication.
Conditions for the effective administration of antibiotics
Despite the cautious attitude to antibiotic-based drugs, it is very difficult to argue about their undoubted benefits. Those pathologies that are difficult to cure are amenable to therapeutic correction with antibiotics. Modern drugs created on a synthetic basis are relatively safe, subject to the rules for their admission.
You can take antibiotics without harm to the body, if you follow a number of simple rules:
- Before deciding on antibiotic treatment, it is imperative to consult a doctor and strictly observe his prescriptions for dosage and duration of admission.
- Strictly observe the time of taking the drug, thereby ensuring its constant level in the body.
- Do not interrupt the drug on your own, even against the background of better health.
It should also be borne in mind that the same antibiotics can be sold by the pharmacy network under different commercial names. Before purchasing the drugs prescribed by the doctor, it is worthwhile to find out whether they are drugs of the same therapeutic series.