The Risks Of Antibiotics

When we go to the doctor, we are usually prescribed medication. However, they are not necessarily the best option.

In the rest of this article, we will tell you about the risks of antibiotics.

How antibiotics work

These drugs began to be produced and used in the 1940s. They were the culmination of medical advances at that time. However, if we abuse them, then they can lead to the development of resistant bacteria.

It should also be remembered that antibiotics have some unwanted side effects. For example, if our children take antibiotics, they may experience unpleasant reactions.

This is the case with stomach aches or diarrhea. Antibiotics can also cause allergies.

Viruses and bacteria

There are thus two types of germs that can affect our health: bacteria and viruses. These two elements cause similar symptoms and the way they multiply and spread in the human body are also very similar.

• Bacteria are living microorganisms that grow like normal cells independently.

They are present in all the places we frequent on a daily basis or in all the foods we eat, but they are not necessarily bad for our body. The lactobacillus , for example, live in our intestines and allow us to better digest the food we eat.

In other cases, the bacteria are so harmful that they can then cause disease by invading the human body. They thus have the ability to disrupt the functioning of our organs.

When this happens, antibiotics can be extremely effective because they prevent microorganisms from growing and developing.

• Viruses are not alive and cannot exist independently. They are particles with a genetic apparatus and covered with an envelope.

Their development and reproduction occurs only through the living cells of organisms that viruses try to colonize.

Our immune system can fight certain viruses so that they do not affect the way the body works. To fight viruses, antibiotics alone are ineffective. 

The risks of antibiotics

The consumption of antibiotics in the case of colds or pathologies of viral origin has absolutely no usefulness. It can have negative effects in the medium and long term.

Unnecessary antibiotics can increase the growth of resistant bacteria.

Frequent use of antibiotics can cause some bacteria to mutate and adapt to their new environment, which will make antibiotics totally obsolete to kill them.

This phenomenon is called bacterial resistance, or antibiotic resistance. When this happens, doctors tend to increase the doses of antibiotics prescribed, or to prescribe stronger antibiotics, to eliminate resistant bacteria.

In addition to bacterial resistance, uncontrolled use of antibiotics can lead to other problems.

• Antibiotics can kill many different bacteria, both bad and good, including those that are necessary for our body to function optimally.
• Unreasonable antibiotic intake can cause severe diarrhea because the affected person no longer benefits from the beneficial bacteria that allow them to digest food well.

It is therefore better to look for substitutes for these drugs.

The more antibiotics we use to treat mild conditions like a cold, flu or other viral infections, the more unnecessary they will be in fighting the bacteria they are supposed to kill.

If you engage in these bad behaviors, you will be going to the doctor much more often.

When should you take antibiotics?

• You should consume antibiotics only to fight bacterial infections.
• If you suffer from mild infections, caused by viruses, for example, you should turn to other medicines.

In this way, you will be able to prevent the development of germs resistant to antibiotics. Of course, the final decision is always up to your doctor, the only one able to provide you with an accurate diagnosis of what you are suffering from.

Certain natural antibiotics can be of particular interest.

• Ask questions and seek advice. Don’t just go to the doctor and take the treatment prescribed for you.

Do not forget to ask a healthcare professional if the condition from which you are suffering, or from which your child is suffering, is of bacterial or viral origin.

You should never ask your doctor to automatically prescribe antibiotics.  Only he knows what is medically good for you.

Antibiotic residues

We advise you not to use any leftover antibiotics that you may have at home, or to consume medicines that have been prescribed for another person.

You should get rid of any antibiotics that you have not taken and stop your treatment as soon as you are no longer sick.