Antibiotics provide relief from many infectious diseases. If those miracle drugs had not been discovered, hundreds of patients would have died every day. However, medical experts say that it is not right to take antibiotics continuously with these ideas in mind.
The data obtained through extensive medical research clearly show that antibiotics should be used only after
understanding the drugs. Scientists point out that the biggest mistake is to
immediately go to the drugstore and buy a few antibiotic tablets at random,
even if your health seems to be slightly impaired.
This habit, which is slowly spreading among people, is
likely to cause major health problems that cannot be overcome in the future,
and they emphasize that antibiotics should be handled as a progressive step.
Antibiotics attack and control or destroy microorganisms that
cause diseases without destroying living tissues. They are substances produced by organisms such as bacteria or fungi. In this era of high
scientific development, some antibiotics are even manufactured synthetically.
Penicillin, discovered by the English scientist Alexander
Fleming in 1928, was the first antibiotic. Since then, more than a hundred new
antibiotics have come into use. Tetracycline and chloramphenicol inhibit the growth of bacteria that cause diseases, while penicillin, erythromycin, and streptomycin kill bacteria.
In general, not all types of antibiotics control all types of
bacteria and provide relief from diseases. Some antibiotics control specific
bacteria. Therefore, the antibiotics we take must follow these four rules.
- It must be the right antibiotic for the disease.
- The right amount must be taken.
- It should be low enough to not cause side effects.
- It should also be high enough to completely destroy the bacteria that cause diseases.
Otherwise, instead of controlling the bacteria that cause
diseases, they slowly develop a new substance resistant to the antibiotic. If antibiotics are used incorrectly, later, when it is
necessary to control that antibiotic, new powerful antibiotics will be needed.
If they are unavailable, it will be difficult to cure the
disease. Understanding this, it is better to change the habit of taking
powerful antibiotics for common fevers, colds and coughs. Also, if the antibiotic
is the right antibiotic for the disease, the affected body organs absorb a large part of the medicine.
If it is not, the medicine stays in the body, increasing its toxicity and causing side effects. If life-saving antibiotics are used incorrectly and excessively, the harm they cause is incalculable.
Side effects caused by misuse and overuse of antibiotics.
- Antibiotics gradually lose their effectiveness due to new strains of bacteria. It is believed that their medical use may even disappear at some point. Evidence for this is that penicillin, which was 100 per cent effective in 1940, was only 10 per cent effective in 1981. After surgery, some antibiotics are injected beforehand because the body's organs may be attacked by infectious germs. Statistics confirm that the number of people who die from infectious germs has increased from 10 per cent to 33 per cent due to its reduced effectiveness.
- Each antibiotic has a certain level of toxicity. Penicillin alone is not toxic. Such toxins affect the body's organs in many ways. For example, the toxicity of some antibiotics induces deafness. Some antibiotics form 'calcium orthophosphate complexes' in the bones, which seriously affects bone growth.
- Apart from bones, organs like skin, kidneys, and the small intestine can also be damaged. Some types of antibiotics can also cause brown teeth in young children. Many people use antibiotics for severe fevers like typhoid and pneumonia, even for simple fevers. Their toxicity can cause tiny blood vessels in the eyes to burst and cause bleeding.
- Taking antibiotics continuously for a long time can cause infections. This can severely damage the membranes surrounding organs like the skin and lungs. Taking too many antibiotics can cause anaemia. Sometimes, vital tissues in an area can become damaged and organs can be permanently damaged.
- Antibiotics that are not absorbed by the body are mostly excreted through urine. Therefore, people with urinary disorders should handle antibiotics with caution; otherwise, the kidneys may be damaged beyond repair.
- Some antibiotics cause allergies in some people. This causes sudden changes in some parts of the body. Generally, the body should take any medicine only after consulting a doctor. By taking the medicine prescribed by the doctor, you can get rid of the disease by taking the right amount of medicine.
It is healthy to take antibiotics as per the doctor's advice. Minor ailments can be treated with the best food products. It is not right for everyone to take antibiotics on their own. Doctors will prescribe medicines in such a way that only the right amount of antibiotics prescribed by the doctor can cure the disease and not cause any side effects.