What is the meaning of antibiotic

The Meaning of Antibiotics
“What is the meaning of antibiotic?” is a question that many people ask, especially, if they have to use one or several for the treatment. Antibiotics or antibacterials from ancient Greek “antiviotika” mean “against life.” There are countless numbers of bacteria living in the world, and some of them can cause pretty serious infections. Antibiotics are medications that help prevent or treat these infections.

Just several decades ago, the treatment of bacterial infection was based on the use of different mixtures possessing antimicrobial properties, and this is how humanity treated infections during thousands of years. The following are natural antibiotics:

• Turmeric;
• Garlic;
• Grapefruit seed extract;
• Oregano oil;
• Olive leaf extract;
• Cayenne pepper;
• Manuka honey;
• Colloidal silver;
• Ginger;
• Echinacea;
• Pau d’Arco.

In 1928, the first synthetic antibiotic Penicillin was developed, and since that time, a range of other potent antibacterials has been synthesized. Today, modern antibiotics are able to destroy or prevent the growth of various bacteria.

How Antibiotics Fight Bacterial Infections

Antibiotics work by affecting bacteria without causing harm to human cells. There is a range of differences between bacteria and human cells, which allows antibiotics to work directly with the enemy. These medications are able to distinguish bacterial from human cells. For instance, there are no cell walls in human cells but many bacteria do have them, and penicillin is able to prevent bacteria from building a cell wall.

Among other differences between human cells and bacteria are different structures of cell membranes; differences in copying DNA and building proteins, and others.

Different classes of antibiotics way treat or prevent bacterial infection differently. For instance, beta-lactams block building cell walls of bacteria; macrolides affect ribosomes (protein-building machines), and quinolones harm DNA, which does not allow bacteria reproduce or live.

The Disadvantages of the Use of Antibiotics

When you use an antibiotic, it passes into your bloodstream, and this is how the medication travels through the body, destroying pathogens. There is one problem associated with the use of antibiotics — they tend to eliminate all bacteria, including those that are good or harmless.

Good bacteria are crucial for our health, and that is why the use of antibiotics can be sort of harmful for us. Good bacteria protect the body against the attacks of pathogens, so then they are destroyed by antibiotics, we lose the natural defensive mechanisms. This is how opportunistic infections may develop that are usually would not occur.

All in all, the use of antibiotics should be really careful, and sometimes it is recommended to use additional products to eliminate problems caused by the use of antibacterials. The following are the recommended products:

• Yogurt;
• Kefir;
• Dairy-free fermented beverages and foods;
• A probiotic supplement.

Is the Use of Antibiotics Really Necessary?

Unfortunately, antibacterials are often misused or overused, which leads to antibiotic resistance, a major problem not allowing treating bacterial infections. There are lots of cases when people use antibiotics for the treatment of viral infections, which not only does not help them to overcome infections but may cause resistance to the used drug.

At the same time, for the treatment of infections caused by bacteria, the use of antibacterials is crucial. Only antibiotics can fight those infections. It is no wonder that people used to die from bacterial infections that today can be treated within several days without major difficulties.

Since bacteria are everywhere and they tend to mutate, it is essential to develop new antibiotics all the time. In simple words, antibiotics are vital for humanity to survive bacterial infections, but their overuse or misused have caused lots of problems that we all have to solve now.