Antibiotics are chemical compounds used to kill or inhibit the growth of infectious organisms.

Antibiotics

Introduction

(1) Antibiotics are chemical compounds used to kill or inhibit the growth of infectious organisms. Antibiotic refers generally to antibacterials. All antibiotics share the property of selective toxicity: They are more toxic to an invading organism than they are to an animal or human host. Penicillin is the most well known antibiotic and has been used to fight many infectious diseases, including syphilis, gonorrhea, tetanus, and scarlet fever. Another antibiotic, streptomycin, has been used to combat tuberculosis.

Against

The main problem scientists have come across where antibiotics are concerned is antibiotic resistance. (2) This is due to the large amount of antibiotics consumed by the nation as a whole. Many people believe that antibiotics are the answer to all illnesses such as the common cold or flu. Antibiotics are needed to fight infections caused by bacteria this means the infections caused by viruses, are totally different and need other forms of a cure. Very often patients wish to leave the doctors with an antibiotic prescription for their own peace of mind – a lot of it is psychological. (3) This result in them being oversubscribed when only a small percentage of people actually need them. Due to this reason this is why people can become addicted as they are always given to them and are seen as an easy option. On the other hand other people may not be so good at taking antibiotics. 16% of men and 8% of women asked, admitted to not finishing a course of antibiotics. If a course is not finished all the bacteria would not have been got rid of therefore weakening the immune system. (7) There are two types of antibiotics:

Bacteriocidal - which actually eliminate bacteria.
Bacteriostatic – which limit the population growth.

And so if a course is not finished in the case of the use of bacteriostatic antibiotics there are still live bacteria, which exist, these can then go on to reproduce asexually. The daughter cells would then have immunity to the antibiotic used. New types of antibiotics have to be manufactured all the time. This is not only time consuming but money wasting also.

(5) Mutant bacteria are a problem as they can be immune to many antibiotics making it even harder to ...

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Bacteriocidal - which actually eliminate bacteria.
Bacteriostatic – which limit the population growth.

(5) Mutant bacteria are a problem as they can be immune to many antibiotics making it even harder to find a cure for a specific strain of infection.

There are other problems which could arise are that allergies may develop mainly with the high usage of penicillin.

Not all antibiotics simply cure bacterial infections but they can also cause side effects such as diarrhoea, lightheadness, headaches, vomiting and stomach discomfort.

If people have been put on a long course of antibiotics or often consume antibiotics problems can arise. A deficiency in vitamin ‘K’ can occur and people may start to become light sensitive.

They should only be used for a bacterial infection when completely necessary and the course should always be finished.

For

Before antibiotics infection was rife especially in war zones. People had to have their legs amputated to stop infection spreading throughout the body.

(6) Alexander Fleming was the scientist who discovered the antibiotic penicillin. This was very important as the high amount of injuries which happened in the first world war meant that something could then be done less lives were lost. In the 1940’s antibiotics were really developed and revolutionised the cure of infections. ‘They have a remarkable healing power’ said one American physician. Without them we would be unable to cure infection which otherwise may cause harm or death. Perhaps one of the most important and useful uses of antibiotics is there help in chemotherapy and in helping to cure leprosy by combining with other antibiotics.

Although there are many reasons as to why antibiotics are bad for us when used correctly they are a great advantage and save many lives.

(4) "My infection wouldn’t go away after several days, I gave up and took antibiotics – there was a huge improvement straight away’ said Dr. Rubinstein.

Antibiotics provide relief from infections such as:

Ear infections
Acne
Arthritis (in some cases)
Sinus infections
Some lung infections
Bladder infection
Infections of the blood stream etc

(4) Antibiotics are chemicals that kill bacteria but not human cells. They work by interfering with metabolic pathways that are unique to bacteria or different enough from humans that they are not toxic. They kill bacteria indiscriminately and thus will kill pathogens. So when used properly antibiotics are a huge advantage.