People commonly use these antibiotics before bowel and orthopedic surgery. Some people, especially older adults, may experience bowel inflammation , which can lead to severe, bloody diarrhea.
In less common instances, penicillins, cephalosporins, and erythromycin can also cause inflamed bowels. Some people may develop an allergic reaction to antibiotics, especially penicillins.
Side effects might include a rash, swelling of the tongue and face, and difficulty breathing. Allergic reactions to antibiotics might be immediate or delayed hypersensitivity reactions.
Anyone who has an allergic reaction to an antibiotic must tell their doctor or pharmacist. Reactions to antibiotics can be serious and sometimes fatal. They are called anaphylactic reactions.
People with reduced liver or kidney function should be cautious when using antibiotics. This may affect the types of antibiotics they can use or the dose they receive. Likewise, women who are pregnant or breast-feeding should speak with a doctor about the best antibiotics to take. Individuals taking an antibiotic should not take other medicines or herbal remedies without speaking with a doctor first. Certain OTC medicines might also interact with antibiotics.
Some doctors suggest that antibiotics can reduce the effectiveness of oral contraceptives. However, research does not generally support this. Nonetheless, people who experience diarrhea and vomiting or are not taking their oral contraceptive during illness because of an upset stomach might find that its effectiveness reduces. People must not stop a course of antibiotics halfway through. If in doubt, they can ask their doctor for advice.
People usually take antibiotics by mouth. However, doctors can administer them by injection or apply them directly to the part of the body with infection. Most antibiotics start combating infection within a few hours. Complete the whole course of medication to prevent the return of the infection. Stopping the medication before the course has finished increases the risk that the bacteria will become resistant to future treatments.
The ones that survive will have had some exposure to the antibiotic and may consequently develop resistance to it. An individual needs to complete the course of antibiotic treatment even after they see an improvement in symptoms. All antibiotics will have some effect on the bacteria that normally live inside our bodies and contribute to our health, the microbiome. As a side effect, they may kill some bacteria that are good for us, and make it easier for other bacteria to take their place.
We have hundreds of antibiotics, but they fall into about 15 major classes. Many are produced naturally by certain microbes to kill others. Most were discovered between and The rate at which we have developed new ones has slowed down dramatically. Some bacteria have evolved resistance to certain antibiotics. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are becoming more and more common, making infections harder to treat.
The process is sufficiently different in each that antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin--a fluoroquinolone notable for its activity against the anthrax bacillus--can specifically target an enzyme called DNA gyrase in bacteria. But this antibiotic does not affect the DNA gyrases of humans and thus, again, bacteria die while the host remains unharmed.
Many other compounds can kill both bacterial and human cells. It is the selective action of antibiotics against bacteria that make them useful in the treatment of infections while at the same time allowing the host to live another day. Already a subscriber? Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue. See Subscription Options. Go Paperless with Digital.
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