Facts about Antibiotics

• While the use of antibiotics did not begin in the 20th century, early folk medicine included the use of mouldy foods or soil for infections. In ancient Egypt, for example, infections were treated with mouldy bread.
• The majority of antibiotics prescribed to adults in the United States are for acute respiratory tract infections. Acute respiratory tract infections include sinusitis, bronchitis, sore throat and common colds.
• In 1954, two million pounds of antibiotics were produced in the United States. Today the figure exceeds 50 million pounds.
• Over 3,000 antibiotics have been identified but only a few dozen are used in medicine.
• The Centers for Disease Control estimates that some 18 million courses of antibiotics are prescribed for colds each year even though colds are caused by viruses.
• Taking antibiotics when you don't need them causes bacteria to become resistant to the antibiotic. Infections with antibiotic resistant bacteria are more difficult to treat.
• Antibiotics are not recommended for a cold or flu, because this medication only works against fighting infections caused by bacteria. Viruses cause illnesses such as a cold, flu, soar throat or coughs. Antibiotics do not cure viruses or infections caused by viruses and should not be taken in these instances. Most often it is just best to allow a cold or the flu to run its course. The average cold or flu lasts up to two weeks or more. Should cold or flu-like symptoms persist for more than four weeks it would be wise to consult your doctor.
• It is very important that antibiotics be taken as prescribed. Although you may begin to feel better, you must take the full course, to prevent your illness coming back. Not taking the full course can lead to future antibiotic resistance.
• It is quite common to have side effects from antibiotics, such as stomach upset, thrush, diarrhoea and allergic reactions. If you are taking the contraceptive pill, antibiotics can make it less effective.
• Each year in the United States, more than 160 million prescriptions are written for antibiotics. Humans consume 235 million doses of antibiotics annually.
• Antibiotics do not work against all infections. Antibiotics work only against infections that are caused by bacteria. These drugs are not effective at all against most viral infections.
• Antibiotics do not weaken the immune system. This myth stems from the observation that a few people go on to develop new infections after having taken an antibiotic. Since no antibiotic can kill all kinds of bacteria, sometimes the initial infection is cured, but another infection develops from bacteria that are resistant to the antibiotic.
• Antibiotics are not stronger or weaker than each other, but they do differ in two important ways that determine whether or not they are likely to work for a given infection: How well they get to the site of the infection. If an antibiotic cannot penetrate into the site of the infection (e.g., the brain), it cannot cure that infection. How well they kill or inactivate the infecting bacteria once they get there. If an antibiotic cannot neutralize the bacteria causing the infection, it will not work.
• There are many different types of antibiotics that differ in their ability to reach various parts of the body and eliminate specific types of bacteria.
• The overwhelming majority of antibiotics are made from living organisms such as bacteria. About 90% of antibiotics are isolated from bacteria fungi, and molds. Others are produced synthetically, either in whole or in part.