Can antibiotics help? Any antibiotic is better than none. When antibiotics are prescribed

Have a good day, dear friend! The article will be devoted correct application antibiotics. Antibacterial drugs are drugs without which many infectious diseases that are successfully treated today would be fatal. For example, pneumonia. She died before great amount people, and now death from pneumonia in the hospital department of a general practitioner is unacceptable, especially if it was a young man. Therefore, these medicines are a great boon for humanity. They have saved millions of lives during their existence. Now these drugs are freely available in Russian pharmacies. Their availability is a plus, but there is also a minus - many people buy them on their own and use them "haphazardly". From this, the result of the drug may not be what was expected. That's how CORRECTLY USE ANTIBIOTICS I will tell in this article. Go!

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First of all, it is worth defining antibacterial drugs and antibiotics.

If he speaks very simply, then ANTIBACTERIAL DRUGS- Substances that destroy bacteria or help to stop the division of bacteria. BUT ANTIBIOTICS- this is one of the groups of drugs that make up antibacterial drugs, a feature of which is that they are formed by living organisms (bacteria, fungi, etc.).

It should be noted that viruses and fungi DO NOT APPLY to bacteria. This needs to be made important conclusion: antibacterial drugs, including including antibiotics, help with infection(infection is a disease caused by microbes, which include unicellular fungi, bacteria and viruses), ONLY CAUSED BY BACTERIA. From viruses and fungi, they do NOT help. Therefore, for example, with herpes, they will not help. But with pneumonia, yes. because this disease caused by bacteria.

Many antibiotics are various groups drugs. All of them act not on all microorganisms, but on specific ones. For example, there is such a bacterium - Koch's wand(causes tuberculosis). The drug rifampicin will destroy it, but amoxicillin will not. Because the bacterium is not sensitive to the latter (that is, it is resistant to the action of an antibiotic). Also some antibiotics destroy the bacterium by destroying its wall(BACTERICIDAL antibiotics) and others slow down the division of bacteria and thereby prevent their spread throughout the body(BACTERIOSTATIC antibiotics).

It was a very small digression on antibiotics. He needed to understand what kind of drugs they were. And now RULES FOR APPLICATION OF ANTIBACTERIALS. After all, these drugs are a powerful tool that we can use with all our might, using these rules, or we can use it like a “monkey with a gun”, who considers himself the smartest and tries to cure himself blindly, not knowing anything about the gun. But she can accidentally shoot herself. And this must be avoided.

Rule #1Antibiotics should be used STRICTLY AS INDICATED.

The main indication for the use of antibiotics is a serious bacterial infection. It is bacterial, not viral or fungal. For example, pneumonia, with rare exceptions, is caused by bacteria. Therefore, antibiotics this case shown. But with the flu in the early days, no, because the flu is caused by the corresponding virus. Antibiotics do not work on them.

About serious infections. I have friends who take antibiotics for colds. A bearded anecdote comes to mind here: “If you treat a cold, then it is cured in 7 days. And if left untreated, it goes away in a week. Cold (according to medical acute respiratory infection- ORI) - it is a disease that our body can cope with without antibiotics. In addition, it is not a fact that it will be caused by bacteria, there are also rhinitis (inflammation of the nasal mucosa, accompanied by a runny nose), caused by viruses. It turns out fortune-telling on coffee grounds. Do not forget that the use of the same antibiotic does not go unnoticed. Bacteria get used to them, and as a result, over time, the medicine does not work. The situation is similar to baiting cockroaches. For the first time, the poison acts very powerfully on the negligent inhabitants of the apartment. The number of insects is sharply reduced. But there are those units that turned out to be insensitive to the poison. It breeds and becomes a lot of cockroaches that are not susceptible to this poison. And you need to buy another one. The same thing happens with antibiotics.

Therefore, it is necessary to use antibiotics for infection, really health threatening- pneumonia, cystitis, pyelonephritis, purulent inflammation etc. BUT the cold will pass herself on antipyretic drugs in a week.

Rule #2 In the first days, drugs with a WIDE RANGE of action are used, and in the subsequent days, those to which the flora (bacteria) is sensitive.

A very important rule, which can be fully applied, unfortunately, only in a medical institution. The fact is that there are antibiotics that kill VERY MANY different microbes (for example, the drug amoxicillin), and there are those that act on single species (for example, anti-tuberculosis drugs act only on Koch's wand). Early infectious disease UNKNOWN which type of bacteria caused the disease (and there are a huge number of types of bacteria). That's why use drugs that kill as many different types of bacteria as possible. And they hope that as a result of this atomic explosion» the “villainous bacteria” that caused the infection will die among the innocent. This is also a guess, but better exit on the this moment does not exist.

The most proven option Take a body medium BEFORE STARTING ANTIBIOTICS where the infection occurs, for culture (for example, purulent contents of the wound). The detachable is placed on a nutrient medium, where the bacteria grow after a few days. So you can determine who exactly caused the infection, the sensitivity of bacteria to antibiotics (in other words, which of the antibiotics best kills the specific bacteria that caused the disease). As soon as the results of the study become known, new antibiotics are prescribed that more selectively destroy the "evil" bacteria. The analysis is done on average 3-4 days. Naturally, they only make it medical institution, but not in all cases. Therefore, antibiotics are often used a wide range actions that are chosen empirically (at random).

Rule #3 Rule of three days.

According to this rule, the effectiveness of the antibiotic is determined on the 3rd DAY from the moment of its appointment. The drug is canceled after 3 days from the moment the symptoms of the disease stop.

If after starting an antibiotic within 3 days the symptoms of the disease decrease: the fever stops, the degree of weakness decreases, cough, shortness of breath, etc., this means that the ANTIBIOTIC AFFECTS bacteria, and it is effective. Third day after admission– the last day when the symptoms MUST decrease. If this does not happen (fever, cough, shortness of breath, weakness, muscle pain, etc. persist), it is necessary to CHANGE the antibiotic to another with a DIFFERENT mechanism of action (for example, change bactericidal to bacteriostatic), also WIDE SPECTRUM of action. Replacement is necessary, because they did not guess with the drug. Got one to which the bacteria are already immune. And with an infectious disease, it is important early start therapy. You cannot wait long for the infection to spread even more in the body, which will happen when taking a drug that does not act on microorganisms.

Antibiotics are usually discontinued 3 days from the cessation of ALL symptoms of infection(fever, shortness of breath, weakness, cough, etc.). In some cases, the reception continues further (for severe infectious diseases that are treated in the hospital).

rule#4. Hourly antibiotics.

Antibiotic intake should be distributed by the hour. In the annotation to any antibiotic in the "Pharmacokinetics" section, the time of action of the drug is indicated. For example, drug amoxicillin lasts about 6-8 hours. In order for the antibiotic to CONSTANTLY act on the bacteria, it must be applied continuously. AT specific example every 8 hours, i.e. 3 times a day strictly by the clock. Let's take the interval after 8 hours: 7:00, 15:00, 23:00. If the drug acts every 12 hours, then it should be taken 2 times a day every 12 hours. I hope the principle is clear. You can also focus on the half-life indicator. But I suggest the easiest option: in any annotation to the drug, it is indicated in what dosage and HOW MANY TIMES A DAY you need to drink an antibiotic. Divide 24 hours by the number of doses indicated there, and it will become clear at what intervals you need to drink the medicine. For example, 6 times a day is indicated - 24 hours: 6 = 4 hours. Therefore, every 4 hours you need to take an antibiotic. If indicated once a day - every 24 hours, etc. Important rule which many do not follow. But if the concentration of the drug in the blood is not constant, this can lead to the fact that at some time the drug will not act on the bacteria. And this can lead to the development of RESISTANCE of microorganisms to the destructive effect of the drug. This cannot be allowed.

Rule #4The use of drugs along with antibiotics to eliminate the symptoms of an infectious disease.

To eliminate the symptoms of the disease, other drugs are also used in conjunction with antibiotics. For example, in pneumonia, the main symptoms are fever, shortness of breath, cough with sputum, and possible chest pain. To eliminate FEVER, FEVER-RELIEF drugs are used, COUGH with sputum - MUCOLYTICS for faster separation of sputum, PAIN IN THE CHEST - ANESTHETIC drugs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - NSAIDs, which are also antipyretic and anti-inflammatory). This is necessary to alleviate the patient's condition, as well as a speedy recovery.

Rule #5 After a course of antibiotics, restoration of the intestinal microflora with probiotics is indicated.

A rule most people never follow. The fact is that antibiotics, in addition to "harmful" bacteria also affects the "good" ones. that are found in our gastrointestinal tract. The collection of beneficial bacteria is called normal microflora. it microflora performs a lot of useful functions – protects the gastrointestinal tract from the growth of "harmful" bacteria in it due to competition with them, forms some vitamins, participate in the digestion of some nutrients , stimulate immunity and others. When antibiotics are used, part of this microflora also dies, since the drug acts on many types of bacteria (broad spectrum of action). And this leads to the development of intestinal dysbacteriosis. The condition may not manifest itself, but it may also lead to infections gastrointestinal tract (because instead of the dead microflora, a lot comes with food " harmful bacteria", which populate empty spaces in the intestines), dyspeptic disorders (bloating, diarrhea or constipation, malabsorption nutrients), reduced immunity. Intestinal dysbacteriosis is not a disease, it can be in varying degrees- from mild to severe. But it is known for certain that after taking antibiotics, it develops in 99.9% of cases. To prevent this AFTER THE COURSE OF ANTIBIOTICS, PROBIOTICS are used- preparations containing live beneficial bacteria. For example, such drugs include linex, bifidumbacterin, lactobacterin, etc. Reception should be from the day the antibiotic is canceled DURATION of at least 21 days. New beneficial bacteria in the medicine will take the place of the dead. And dysbacteriosis will be eliminated.

Rule #6 When using a combination of antibiotics, it is necessary to use drugs with different mechanisms of action and side effects.

This rule is intended rather for doctors. Since combinations of antibiotics are produced for serious infectious diseases that need to be treated in a hospital. But for general development it can be taken into account that when using antibiotics with the same side effects, summation may occur adverse reactions body for medicine. And also that the effectiveness of drugs with different mechanisms of action is greater than when using antibiotics with the same action.

Rule #7 With a duration effective reception antibiotics for more than 10 days, it is changed to a drug with the opposite mechanism of action.

Here it should be noted that when acute infections, which are treated at home, taking an antibiotic is usually no more than 5-10 days. long-term use used already in a medical institution, if there are indications for this. That's why ordinary person it concerns little. About that how many days and at what dosage antibiotic should be used. It is better to trust the information that is indicated in the annotation to the drug.

You can also use drugs that stimulate the immune system. If there is a desire. Do not also forget that it is IMPOSSIBLE to use the same antibiotic CONSTANTLY with the same infection (for example, a cold). This will lead to the habituation of the microflora to it. And in the end, at some point, the drug will not work. Therefore, if you use the same antibiotic more than 3-4 times, it is better to change it to a drug from another group that is also broad-spectrum.

I hope the information was useful to you. Now you know how to properly use this powerful tool against infection - antibiotics. Be well, dear friend.

Kirill Stasevich, biologist

The fact that antibiotics are ineffective against viruses has long been a truism. However, polls show that 46% of our compatriots believe that viruses can be killed with antibiotics. The reason for the misconception probably lies in the fact that antibiotics are prescribed for infectious diseases, and infections are commonly associated with bacteria or viruses. Although it is worth noting that the set of infectious agents is not limited to bacteria and viruses alone. In general, there are a great many antibiotics, they can be classified according to various medical and biological criteria: chemical structure, efficiency, ability to act on different types bacteria or only on some narrow group (for example, antibiotics aimed at the causative agent of tuberculosis). But the main property that unites them is the ability to suppress the growth of microorganisms and cause their death. To understand why antibiotics don't work on viruses, we need to understand how they work.

The cell wall is affected by beta-lactam antibiotics, which include penicillins, cephalosporins, and others; polymyxins disrupt the integrity of the bacterial cell membrane.

The bacterial cell wall consists of heteropolymer filaments linked together by short peptide bridges.

The action of penicillin on coli: due to penicillin, the growing bacterial cell cannot complete the cell wall, which ceases to cover the entire cell, as a result of which the cell membrane begins to protrude and tear.

In addition to the genome in the form of DNA or RNA and a protein capsid, many viruses also have an additional shell, or supercapsid, which consists of fragments of the host cell membranes (phospholipids and proteins) and retains viral glycoproteins.

What weak points do antibiotics find in bacteria?

First, the cell wall. Any cell needs some kind of boundary between it and the external environment - without this, there will be no cell at all. Usually the plasma membrane serves as the boundary - a double layer of lipids with proteins that float in this semi-liquid surface. But the bacteria went further: they cell membrane created the so-called cell wall - a rather powerful structure and, moreover, very complex in chemical structure. To form the cell wall, bacteria use a number of enzymes, and if this process is disrupted, the bacterium highly likely will die. (Fungi, algae, and higher plants also have a cell wall, but in them it is created on a different chemical basis.)

Secondly, bacteria, like all living things, need to multiply, and for this you need to take care of the second copy

hereditary DNA molecule that could be passed on to a descendant cell. Special proteins responsible for replication, that is, for doubling DNA, work on this second copy. For the synthesis of DNA, a "building material" is needed, that is, nitrogenous bases, of which DNA is composed and which are added to it in the "words" of the genetic code. Again, specialized proteins are involved in the synthesis of building blocks.

The third target of antibiotics is translation, or protein biosynthesis. It is known that DNA is well suited for storing hereditary information, but reading information from it for protein synthesis is not very convenient. Therefore, between DNA and proteins there is an intermediary - messenger RNA. First, an RNA copy is removed from the DNA - this process is called transcription, and then protein synthesis occurs on the RNA. It is performed by ribosomes, which are complex and large complexes of proteins and special RNA molecules, as well as a number of proteins that help ribosomes cope with their task.

Most antibiotics in the fight against bacteria "attack" one of these three main targets - the cell wall, DNA synthesis and protein synthesis in bacteria.

For example, the cell wall of bacteria is a target for the well-known antibiotic penicillin: it blocks the enzymes that help the bacterium build its outer shell. If you use erythromycin, gentamicin or tetracycline, then the bacteria will stop synthesizing proteins. These antibiotics bind to ribosomes in such a way that translation stops (although the specific ways in which erythromycin, gentamicin, and tetracycline act on the ribosome and protein synthesis are different). Quinolones inhibit the work of bacterial proteins that are needed to unravel DNA strands; without it, DNA cannot be copied (or replicated) correctly, and copying errors lead to the death of bacteria. Sulfanilamide preparations disrupt the synthesis of substances necessary for the production of nucleotides that make up DNA, so that bacteria again lose the ability to reproduce their genome.

Why don't antibiotics work on viruses?

First, let's remember that a virus is, roughly speaking, a protein capsule with a nucleic acid inside. It carries hereditary information in the form of several genes that are protected from the external environment by viral envelope proteins. Secondly, viruses have chosen a special strategy for reproduction. Each of them seeks to create as many new viral particles as possible, which will be equipped with copies of the genetic molecule of the "parent" particle. The phrase "genetic molecule" was not used by chance, since among the molecules that store the genetic material in viruses, one can find not only DNA, but also RNA, and both of them can be either single- or double-stranded. But one way or another, viruses, like bacteria, like all living beings in general, first need to multiply their genetic molecule. That's why the virus sneaks into the cell.

What is he doing there? Forces the molecular machine of the cell to serve it, the virus, the genetic material. That is, cellular molecules and supramolecular complexes, all these ribosomes, enzymes for the synthesis of nucleic acids, etc. begin to copy the viral genome and synthesize viral proteins. We will not go into details of exactly how different viruses enter the cell, what kind of processes occur with their DNA or RNA, and how virus particles are assembled. It is important that viruses depend on cellular molecular machines and especially on the protein-synthesizing "pipeline". Bacteria, even if they penetrate the cell, synthesize their own proteins and nucleic acids.

What happens if cells with viral infection add, for example, an antibiotic that interrupts the process of cell wall formation? Viruses do not have a cell wall. And therefore, an antibiotic that acts on the synthesis of the cell wall will not do anything to the virus. Well, what if we add an antibiotic that inhibits the process of protein biosynthesis? It won’t work anyway, because the antibiotic will look for the bacterial ribosome, but in an animal cell (including a human one) there is no such one, it has a different ribosome. The fact that proteins and protein complexes that perform the same functions have different organisms differ in structure, there is nothing unusual. Living organisms must synthesize protein, synthesize RNA, replicate their DNA, get rid of mutations. These processes occur in all three domains of life: in archaea, in bacteria, and in eukaryotes (which include animals, plants, and fungi), and similar molecules and supramolecular complexes are involved in them. Similar - but not the same. For example, bacterial ribosomes differ in structure from eukaryotic ribosomes due to the fact that ribosomal RNA looks slightly different in both. This dissimilarity prevents antibacterial antibiotics from influencing the molecular mechanisms of eukaryotes. This can be compared to different models cars: any of them will take you to the place, but the design of the engine may differ in them and the spare parts for them are different. In the case of ribosomes, such differences are enough for antibiotics to be able to act only on bacteria.

To what extent can specialization of antibiotics be manifested? In general, antibiotics initially are not artificial substances created by chemists at all. Antibiotics are chemical weapon, which fungi and bacteria have long used against each other to get rid of competitors claiming the same resources environment. Only later were compounds like the aforementioned sulfonamides and quinolones added to them. The famous penicillin was once obtained from fungi of the genus Penicillium, and streptomycetes bacteria synthesize a whole range of antibiotics both against bacteria and against other fungi. Moreover, streptomycetes are still a source of new drugs: not so long ago, researchers from Northeastern University (USA) reported new group antibiotics that were obtained from the bacteria Streptomyces hawaiensi - these new drugs act even on those bacterial cells, which are at rest and therefore do not feel the effects of conventional drugs. Fungi and bacteria have to fight with a specific enemy, in addition, it is necessary that their chemical weapons are safe for the one who uses them. Therefore, among antibiotics, some have the broadest antimicrobial activity, while others work only against individual groups microorganisms, albeit quite extensive (such as polymyxins, which act only on gram-negative bacteria).

Moreover, there are antibiotics that harm specifically eukaryotic cells, but are completely harmless to bacteria. For example, streptomycetes synthesize cycloheximide, which inhibits the work of eukaryotic ribosomes exclusively, and they also produce antibiotics that inhibit the growth of cancer cells. The mechanism of action of these anti-cancer drugs can be different: they can integrate into cellular DNA and interfere with the synthesis of RNA and new DNA molecules, they can inhibit the work of enzymes that work with DNA, etc., but they have the same effect: cancer cell stops dividing and dies.

The question arises: if viruses use cellular molecular machines, is it possible to get rid of viruses by acting on the molecular processes in the cells they infect? But then you need to be sure that the drug will get into the infected cell and bypass the healthy one. And this task is very non-trivial: it is necessary to teach the drug to distinguish infected cells from uninfected ones. They are trying to solve a similar problem (and not without success) in relation to tumor cells: ingenious technologies, including those with the prefix nano-, are being developed in order to ensure targeted delivery of drugs specifically to the tumor.

As for viruses, it is better to fight them using specific features their biology. The virus can be prevented from gathering into a particle, or, for example, prevented from going outside and thereby preventing infection of neighboring cells (this is the mechanism of work antiviral agent zanamivir), or, conversely, prevent it from releasing its genetic material into cell cytoplasm(this is how rimantadine works), or even prohibit it from interacting with the cell.

Viruses do not rely entirely on cellular enzymes. To synthesize DNA or RNA, they use their own polymerase proteins, which are different from cellular proteins and which are encrypted in the viral genome. In addition, such viral proteins can be part of the finished viral particle. And an antiviral substance can act just on such purely viral proteins: for example, acyclovir inhibits the work of the herpes virus DNA polymerase. This enzyme builds a DNA molecule from nucleotide monomer molecules, and without it, the virus cannot multiply its DNA. Acyclovir modifies monomer molecules in such a way that they disable DNA polymerase. Many RNA viruses, including the AIDS virus, enter the cell with their RNA and first of all synthesize a DNA molecule on this RNA, which again requires a special protein called reverse transcriptase. And a row antiviral drugs help to weaken the viral infection by acting on this specific protein. On cellular molecules such antiviral drugs do not work. And finally, you can rid the body of the virus simply by activating the immune system, which quite effectively recognizes viruses and virus-infected cells.

So, antibacterial antibiotics will not help us against viruses simply because viruses are organized in a fundamentally different way from bacteria. We can't affect either the viral cell wall or the ribosomes, because viruses don't have either. We can only suppress the work of some viral proteins and interrupt specific processes in life cycle viruses, but this requires special substances that act differently than antibacterial antibiotics.

Obviously, the differences between bacterial and eukaryotic molecules and molecular complexes involved in the same processes are not so great for a number of antibiotics, and they can act on both. However, this does not mean that such substances can be effective against viruses. It is important to understand here that in the case of viruses, several features of their biology are combined at once, and an antibiotic is powerless against such a sum of circumstances.

And the second clarification, which follows from the first, is whether such "promiscuity" or, better to say, the wide specialization of antibiotics underlie side effects from them? In fact, such effects arise not so much because antibiotics act on humans in the same way as on bacteria, but because antibiotics show new, unexpected properties that are in no way related to their main work. For example, penicillin and some other beta-lactam antibiotics have a bad effect on neurons - and all because they look like a molecule of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), one of the main neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are needed for communication between neurons, and the addition of antibiotics can lead to unwanted effects, as if in nervous system an excess of these same neurotransmitters formed. In particular, some of the antibiotics are thought to cause epileptic seizures. In general, many antibiotics interact with nerve cells, and often this interaction leads to negative effect. And the matter is not limited to nerve cells alone: ​​the antibiotic neomycin, for example, if it enters the blood, greatly harms the kidneys (fortunately, it is almost not absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, so when taken orally, that is, through the mouth, it does not cause any damage other than intestinal bacteria).

However, the main side effect of antibiotics is due to the fact that they harm the peaceful gastrointestinal microflora. Antibiotics usually do not distinguish who is in front of them, a peaceful symbiont or a pathogenic bacterium, and kill everyone who gets in the way. But the role intestinal bacteria it is difficult to overestimate: without them, we would have difficulty digesting food, they support a healthy metabolism, help in setting up immunity and do much more - functions intestinal microflora researchers are still studying. You can imagine how the body feels, deprived of companions-cohabitants due to a drug attack. Therefore, often, prescribing strong antibiotic or an intensive antibiotic course, doctors at the same time recommend taking drugs that maintain normal microflora in digestive tract patient.

The era of antibiotic use began in the 1940s with penicillin. At that time, it seemed that a panacea for all infections had been found. History even preserved the fact of curing a woman with severe endocarditis - inflammation of the inner lining of the heart, with several injections of the same penicillin.

However, several decades of uncontrolled use of this group of drugs led to a sad result. Almost complete loss of their effectiveness. Already in our time, a case is known when a patient died from sepsis, despite the fact that doctors injected him with all the antibiotics known to date. Some 10 years ago, this was unbelievable.

Unfortunately, the resistance of both bacteria and humans today is developing faster than new ones appear. effective methods fight with her. Why is this happening? Why don't antibiotics help?

In modern pharmacology, there are 16 classes various antibiotics. However, regardless of the type, in order for the drug to work, three conditions must be met:

• The active substance must penetrate the bacterial cell.
• It must act on the target, which can be genetic chain or cell wall.
• At the same time, it must retain its structure, on which the effect depends.

And then, as in folk tale. If all conditions are not met, then the result of treatment will be minimal, and in the worst case, it will not be at all. Again, it is with these three conditions that the development of resistance (resistance) is also associated.

Antibiotic resistance is a weak susceptibility or complete resistance of a bacterium to the action of one or more types of antibiotics.

resistance in bacteria

At the beginning of the era of antibiotics, bacterial resistance, if encountered, was in isolated cases. Today, this phenomenon has grown to a frightening scale. For example, according to WHO studies, up to 70% of staphylococci, which cause most infectious diseases, resistant to penicillin, chloramphenicol and streptomycin. However, resistance may vary. Doctors distinguish:

• Natural, characteristic of bacteria initially. That is, when the antibiotic does not work, because there is no target for it, or because it cannot penetrate the cell, or it is destroyed by special enzymes that the bacterium produces. An example of such resistance is mycoplasma. This bacterium does not have a cell wall, so it is not affected by beta-lactam antibiotics, which include the well-known Ampicillin or Amoxicillin.
• Acquired, which appeared as a result of mutations. It's kind of natural selection, thanks to which the bacteria that survived after the action of the antibiotic acquire new abilities. The mechanism of such stability may be different. For example, in bacteria, the properties of the cell wall change, and it becomes impermeable to the drug, or they begin to produce an enzyme that destroys it.

Resistance in some cases can develop very quickly. Literally within one day of admission. Therefore, it is so important to choose the right antibiotics during treatment and not to drink them unnecessarily.

Resilience in humans

However, bacteria are not always to blame for the lack of effect of treatment. It happens that the person himself is insensitive to the drug that he was prescribed. Of course, it is impossible to say with accuracy in advance whether antibiotics will work in each specific case or not. However, scientists have compiled a rough portrait of a person who most likely already has resistance. Usually this:

• People suffering from a chronic inflammatory disease, and sometimes more than one. Periodically, these diseases worsen, the doctor prescribes antibiotics, or the person himself begins to drink them. Sometimes without urgent need, but simply for the purpose of prevention.
• Those who have weak immunity, again associated with long-term, often uncontrolled use of antibiotics.
• People who like to be treated, and immediately and radically. Those who prefer even with a simple runny nose or sore throat immediately connect heavy artillery.

There is another type of people who are insensitive to antibiotics. These are those who have idiosyncrasy metabolism.

Often in such patients, other drugs are ineffective or do not work as expected.

When does an antibiotic not work?

These are not all situations in which antibiotics may be ineffective. It happens that the lack of improvement in treatment is not due to the resistance of bacteria and not to the peculiarities of metabolism, but to the fact that the drug is used incorrectly.

Antibiotics do not help:

• With viral infections, as they act only on bacteria. This means that drinking them with SARS or flu is useless. The only exception is a bacterial infection, which can develop along with a viral one. For example, when a person who has had the flu develops pneumonia.
• With sore throat, due to the fact that in most cases they are also associated with a viral infection. An exception is angina caused by streptococcus. Therefore, with severe pain in the throat, it is better to consult a doctor or at least buy a special Streptatest rapid test at the pharmacy, which will help determine what caused the inflammation.
• With a runny nose, since most often it is also caused by a viral infection or an allergy. Ordinary catarrhal runny nose resolves in 10 days, is rarely accompanied by high fever and does not require antibiotic treatment. Otherwise, you need to see a doctor.
• With a cough, which again in most cases is not caused by a bacterial infection, especially if it is a cough that appeared with a cold.
• At high temperature. Antibiotics do not relieve fever or relieve pain.

The prescription of antibiotics is far from always justified for intestinal disorders, which can be caused by intolerance to food or water, allergies, or all the same viruses.

What to do?

But what if the antibiotic doesn't help? At the same time, the infection really needs to be treated with these drugs, their doctor prescribed them to you, do you drink correctly, observing the dosage and regimen, but there is no effect? Unfortunately, this also happens. Main reasons:

• Insufficient course duration. Despite the fact that the effect of the drug develops rather quickly, it is possible to notice an improvement in the condition only on the 2nd-3rd day of taking it.
• Incorrect dosage or frequency of administration.
• The wrong antibiotic. Modern drugs belong to a wide spectrum of action, that is, they are able to destroy most bacteria. But there are exceptions when the infection was caused by exactly the species that is insensitive to this substance.

If you have been taking an antibiotic for more than three days and are taking it correctly and your condition has not improved, be sure to see your doctor as soon as possible. You may need to choose a different drug or adjust your treatment regimen.

Antibiotics are one of the most significant drugs. Thanks to them, it is possible to cure many serious illnesses, which until recently were fatal.

However, uncontrolled and often completely uncontrolled desired application in the future can lead to the fact that even the most modern drugs will be powerless against any infection.

To prevent this from happening, drink antibiotics correctly, as prescribed by your doctor and in cases where they are really needed. Only in this way will you be able to maintain the effectiveness of these vital important drugs not only for themselves, but also for future generations.

Antibiotics ... Someone considers the presence of these drugs in home first aid kit mandatory and starts taking them on their own at the first sign of a runny nose. Someone categorically does not accept this group of medicines, refusing them, even when the infection is life threatening. How to find the golden mean?

What are antibiotics?

Antibiotics are drugs used to treat infections bacterial origin. There are more than ten groups of antibacterial agents that have different composition and differing in the mechanism of action, however, all of them, ultimately, inhibit the reproduction of microorganisms. Unlike antiseptics, antibiotics do not have a direct destructive effect on bacteria, but by inhibiting their growth, they prevent the spread of infection and correct selection have a pronounced therapeutic effect.

When are antibiotics prescribed?

Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial inflammatory diseases different localization. Antibacterial agents are used in therapy, and in surgery, and in traumatology, and in urology, and in proctology, and even in narcology. Perhaps there is not a single branch of medicine where antibiotics are not used.

It is difficult to calculate how many lives have been saved thanks to these unique drugs. The states that have become common cause deaths as early as the beginning of the 20th century, thanks to the use of antibacterial agents, they are no longer considered extremely severe. Pneumonia, bronchitis, sinusitis, purulent inflammatory processes in traumatology, some forms of tonsillitis, tuberculosis in the era before the discovery of antibiotics were deadly, while modern medicine, usually without special problems deal with these conditions.

What happens if you don't take antibiotics?

If you refuse to take antibiotics, regardless of the severity and danger of the condition, the consequences can be very sad.

Bacterial inflammation can be delayed, the disease will take a protracted character with a transition to a chronic course.

In some cases, an attempt to treat the disease without the use of antibiotics can lead to the formation of a carrier state. The immune system inhibits development pathogenic bacteria in the body, but does not cope with them to the end: without visible symptoms disease, a person becomes a latent carrier of the infection, spreading it around him and infecting his relatives and strangers.

Without antibiotic treatment, many diseases lead to various complications: neighboring organs are involved in the process, catarrhal phenomena develop into purulent ones - with all the ensuing consequences. A disease such as angina is indicative. Classical angina caused by streptococcus, without adequate treatment antibiotics often leads to damage to the heart with the formation of defects and disability for the rest of your life.

Treatment festering wounds without antibiotic therapy is fraught with the spread of infection - a person rots alive.

Most common diseases, such as pneumonia or pyelonephritis, without the use of antibiotics may well cause death.

Why are people afraid of antibiotics?

So why is it so effective drugs sometimes become the object of absolute rejection by many people? The fact is that the use of antibiotics is associated with a number of side effects, which sometimes, in their severity, overlap the benefits of their use.

1. Antibiotics, unfortunately, act not only on pathogenic microorganisms. They inhibit the functioning and normal microflora our body - those bacteria that are involved in digestion and are a natural defense against invasion of the human body by pathogens, such as fungi. This fact is associated with such a complication of taking antibiotics as dysbacteriosis, when an imbalance in the normal microflora leads to constipation, liquid stool, malnutrition, spread of thrush ( fungal disease) on mucous membranes and skin.

2. The widespread use of antibiotics inevitably leads to the formation of resistance. Resistance is the formation of pathogens resistant to an antibacterial agent. Microorganisms that have experienced the repeated action of these drugs adapt to new living conditions and multiply safely even against the background of taking a powerful, it would seem, antibacterial agent. For example, the pioneer in the world of antibiotics, penicillin, was initially effective at doses of only a few thousand units. However, after three or four decades usual dose for penicillin has reached several million units per day, and now penicillin has safely "retired".

It is with the phenomenon of the formation of resistance to antibiotics that the annual entry of new antibacterial agents into the pharmacological market is associated. And each of them will serve for the benefit of the health of mankind in best case 2-3 decades.

3. Most antibacterial agents have toxic effect on the body. The most affected organ is the liver, which assumes the function of neutralizing all incoming toxic substances. There are antibiotics that mainly affect excretory system(kidney), nervous or embryonic tissue.

4. Antibiotics are a common cause of allergic reactions.

In short, there are reasons for concern. However, our task is “not to throw out the baby with the water”, that is, to use unique medicinal properties antibiotics while minimizing side effects and complications.

9 "don'ts" for using antibiotics

1. You can not drink antibiotics to reduce the temperature.

2. You can not take antibiotics as a remedy for pain.

3. You can not prescribe antibiotics yourself, focusing on the stories of a neighbor and grandmothers in the yard.

4. Flu and other viral infections should not be treated with antibiotics.

5. In most cases, antibiotics should not be taken until a diagnosis is made. There are exceptions to this rule, but in most cases we are talking about severe conditions requiring urgent medical attention intensive care and resuscitation.

6. You can not combine antibiotics with alcohol. Firstly, alcohol contributes to a more intensive removal of the drug from the body, and therefore reduces its effect. And secondly, alcohol intoxication- not the best condition for compliance with the regimen of taking an antibacterial drug.

7. In the duration of taking antibiotics, one should not focus only on subjective sensations and stop drinking the drug earlier than the period prescribed by the doctor. This, firstly, can lead to a recurrence of the infection or to the development of complications, and secondly, it leads to the formation of bacterial resistance to the antibacterial agent. This may result in inefficiency this drug when trying to treat subsequent diseases.

8. You can not drink antibiotics at the same time as absorbents - maalox, almagel, activated carbon etc. Absorbents make it difficult to absorb the antibacterial agent and, accordingly, reduce its effectiveness.

9. You can not choose an antibiotic according to the principle "more expensive means better."

Rules for taking antibiotics

1. Antibiotics are prescribed only by a doctor.

2. Antibiotics are prescribed taking into account the sensitivity of pathogenic microorganisms to the drug. The ideal choice medicinal product should be based on culture results for antibiotic susceptibility. However, not every polyclinic has such an opportunity, moreover, the results of sowing will be obtained in a few days, during which the patient's condition may deteriorate critically. That is why, in most cases, the doctor chooses an antibiotic, focusing on the alleged type of bacteria, on his experience, and sometimes on intuition.

3. In addition to the sensitivity of bacteria to the drug, the choice of antibiotic is based on:

patient's age;

the presence of concomitant diseases;

important physiological conditions- pregnancy, breastfeeding;

indications of allergic reactions.

4. The dose of antibiotics must be correctly selected. An extremely high dose with a guarantee will cause side effects, an insufficient dose will not bring an effect, but will only create conditions for the formation of drug resistance in pathogen. The dose of antibiotics is selected taking into account the severity inflammatory process, age and weight of the patient.

5. The duration of antibiotics should be sufficient. The usual course of treatment is considered to be from 5 to 10 days, however, for a number of diseases and some groups of drugs, there may be their own treatment regimen.

6. You need to take antibiotics exactly on time. As a rule, taking the drug is distributed over the day, while the time interval between each dose should be the same. If a daily dose the antibiotic is distributed into two doses, then the interval should be 12 hours; if the prescription indicates a three-time intake, then 8 hours, etc. In some cases, when it is necessary to wake up a sick person, especially a child, to take the next dose of the drug, this interval can be increased, but then the medication should be taken in such a way that evening dose the patient drank before going to bed, and the morning drink immediately after waking up (if necessary, taking 3 or more times a day).

7.To prevent harmful action Antibiotics on the body simultaneously with them are prescribed funds intended for the prevention of side effects. For these purposes, vitamins are usually used, antifungals, hepatoprotectors (drugs that improve liver metabolism), eubiotics (dried microorganisms of normal human microflora).

8. In addition to antibiotics in tablets or injections, if possible, prescribe local treatment- rinsing, rinsing local forms antibiotics, antiseptics, etc.

Such a long list of rules and "no" can be formulated much shorter and clearer: you just need to trust your doctor. Find a competent specialist for yourself and your family and follow his instructions.

We think our article will help you make right choice and use antibiotics - a miracle cure that has saved millions of lives - with health benefits and no serious side effects.

Many people are familiar with the situation when, for the treatment of a not very serious infection, the doctor is forced to prescribe one antibiotic, then another, sometimes a third, before finally improving.

Today, almost a fifth of Russians are faced with such a phenomenon as antibiotic resistance, that is, the resistance of microorganisms to antibiotics. This means that cured with these drugs bacterial infection it will be hard. If earlier the infection was killed in one fell swoop, now the doses required are completely different.

Moreover, today they are already talking about the emergence of super-resistant microbes, which cannot be destroyed by any known antibiotic. And this addiction comes very quickly. It is known that the first resistant staphylococcus was detected already three years after the appearance of the antibiotic. It is not necessary to count on the fact that there will be drugs that overcome this resistance. Over the past twenty years, only two new class of antibiotics have appeared in medicine.

For reinsurance

Why did the once omnipotent antibacterial drugs suddenly give in to the disease? AT recent times scientists are increasingly talking about excess and uncontrolled use antibiotics, which is ultimately one of the key reasons development of resistance. According to some reports, 2-3 names of these drugs are stored in home medicine cabinets. In theory, only a doctor can prescribe antibiotics. But, unfortunately, more than 80% of the population begin to take them on their own, and without any evidence for this.

“Up to 90% of all antibacterial drugs are taken with respiratory diseases, which for the most part are of a viral nature,” says Sergey Yakovlev, President of the Interregional public organization"An Alliance of Clinical Chemotherapists and Microbiologists. - Although latest research clearly proved that the effectiveness of antibiotics in ARVI and influenza is the same as that of vitamin C. But taking ascorbic acid for many is not a serious treatment, and therefore patients sometimes prescribe quite serious antibacterial drugs for themselves on their own.”

However, antibiotics are abused not only by patients, but often by physicians themselves. In most cases, this is due to the lack of microbiological diagnostics. Simply put, the doctor has no way to check whether this antibiotic act on this strain of bacteria, and therefore a more powerful drug is prescribed for reinsurance.

Pharmacy prescription

Already today, in some cities, for example, in Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk, the sale of antibacterial drugs is very tightly controlled - not a single pharmacy will sell them without a prescription. Experts are confident that only tight control will help bring order to the chaotic use of antibiotics. And that's the only way to save the class highly effective drugs. Otherwise, we will return to the pre-antibiotic era, when any abrasion was fatal.