To treatment with antibiotics must be approached with a certain degree of responsibility. One name of this group of drugs contains very threatening information. Literally “antibiotic” is translated as “destroying life”, but not human, but of those microorganisms that make this life difficult for us.
It’s not a secret for anyone that our organism and its individual systems contain a certain microflora from bacteria useful and not very much. It is on the destruction of pathogenic bacteria that the action of antibiotics of a narrow and broad spectrum is calculated. An absolute misconception is an attempt to cure a virus infection with antibiotics – neither ARVI, nor the flu, nor the tracheitis caused by them, bronchitis, laryngitis and pharyngitis are effectively treated with antibiotics. In fairness, it should be noted that the nature of the same bronchitis can be bacterial, pneumonia, antritis, otitis, bacterial infections of the gastrointestinal tract, genitourinary system, etc., are included in the widespread diseases of treatable antibiotics. In a word, antibiotics are effective where the bacteria cause the disease, and appoint them, reinsuring them or for prophylaxis is absolutely not professional.
It is even more irresponsible to engage in self-medication with the help of antibiotics. If one day the doctor prescribed you an antibiotic, this does not mean that you can take it with similar symptoms or advise a friend. By prescribing a narrow-spectrum antibiotic, the physician will first get acquainted with the results of the tests aimed at revealing the bacterium itself (bacterial culture, smears, sputum or urine analysis). If antibiotics of this category were recently used by the patient or are ineffective at this stage, antibiotics of a wider spectrum are prescribed, but even after their administration, it is possible that in the next few years they will not be effective in the next few years.
The complexity and danger of using antibiotics lies in the fact that the body can develop an allergic reaction to them, and bacteria, among other things, are able to develop resistance, that is, to be modified so as to resist the effects of a particular medication. In connection with this same ability, it is highly recommended not to stop taking antibiotics for the disappearance of the symptoms of the disease, it is necessary to take the course prescribed by the doctor to the end.
So, in addition to the two fundamental rules (not to prescribe an antibiotic yourself and not to stop taking it yourself), there are a number of tips that should be adhered to, so that antibiotic treatment will benefit the body more than harm:
- do not adjust the dose of the drug yourself (for example, for a child or an adult in the event of a weakening or aggravation of symptoms); unjustifiably small doses of the drug are dangerous development of the resistance of bacteria to it, high doses entail danger for various organs and their systems;
- an antibiotic is recommended to be taken at the same time, at equal intervals, to maintain a constant concentration of the active substance in the blood;
- should be found in the instructions to the drug or the doctor’s doctor how to combine the medicine with the reception of food – some antibiotics are better absorbed on an empty stomach, others just on an empty stomach, and others recommend taking only after a certain time after a meal;
- if the doctor prescribed, in addition to the antibiotic, also drugs that strengthen the work of the liver or restore the intestinal microflora, it is worth inquiring how they combine with antibiotics; for example, taking probiotics should be done at least 2-3 hours after taking the antibiotic, otherwise the effect of the latter will be reduced to “no”;
- to wash down an antibiotic costs a sufficient amount of simple water, perhaps with slightly boiled tea, but not juices, compotes and even more milkshakes;
- during the reception of antibiotics should adhere to a certain diet – exclude the burden on the gastrointestinal tract (such as heavy, fried or spicy food) and liver (such as alcohol intake, excessive stress);
- keep a register of antibiotics, to the application of which you have gone in the past few years, this information will help your doctor appoint the right drug.