Overview
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that healthcare professionals fill approximately 270 million antibiotic prescriptions each year. The majority of these are prescribed by physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and primary care physicians.
Millions of antibiotic courses are also approved for patients by emergency medicine, dentist, and surgeons.
As with any medication that a doctor gives you, it’s important to follow the instructions on an antibiotic prescription. However, this may be challenging for some individuals. Some people might start taking it for a few days and then stop taking their daily doses. Or, some people might take most of it but stop a few days before the prescription ends because they feel better. But experts warn that skipping a dose could result in more serious health issues.
What are antibiotics?
They either kill or prevent bacteria from reproducing. When used correctly, antibiotics are potent drugs that treat some infections and can save lives.
Before microorganisms can increase and cause side effects, the safe framework can regularly kill them. White blood cells, or WBCs, attack harmful bacteria. The immune system is usually able to handle the symptoms and keep the infection at bay.
However, there are times when the number of harmful bacteria is too high for the immune system to eliminate all of them. In this scenario, antibiotics are beneficial.
How do antibiotics work?
Antibiotics come in many different varieties, each of which works differently. However, their two main functions are as follows:
The bacteria are killed by a bactericidal antibiotic like penicillin. The formation of the bacterial cell wall or the contents of the cell is typically affected by these drugs.
A bacteriostatic prevents the growth of bacteria.
When antibiotics are prescribed?
However, antibiotics are necessary for certain serious bacterial infections, such as meningitis or pneumonia. Antibiotics frequently save lives in these circumstances. When you are ill, doctors know how to check you to make sure you don’t have a serious illness and tell you if you need an antibiotic. Antibiotics are also frequently required to prevent kidney infections.
Acne is a less serious condition that can be treated with antibiotics. Antibiotics can be taken orally or applied directly to the skin to treat acne.
Consequences of stopping taking antibiotics
The resilient and unstoppable bacteria are still present in our bodies, and what’s worse is that they no longer have to compete with the population of weaker bacteria for food to survive. They don’t have to share any of the body cells, which makes it easy for them to grow and reproduce, creating their army of tough bacteria.
After surviving low doses of the antibiotic, these bacteria cells are frequently also resistant to it. The condition also demolishes once the sickness backslides and with the microscopic organisms now impervious to the anti-infection, restoring the illness turns even more troublesome.
Why you should finish taking your antibiotics
The CDC says that you could get sick again if you don’t take your antibiotics as directed. This could occur because you think you are over an infection and are feeling better. However, your body may still contain some bacteria. It may begin to multiply, resulting in the recurrence of the infection and the development of resistance to the antibiotic that was initially prescribed, making it more challenging to treat the infection if it occurs again.
Healthcare professionals are aware that certain strains of bacteria can only be eradicated by taking specific antibiotic doses for a specific period.
The antibiotics work best when taken exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Even if you are feeling better, you should continue taking them.
