Table of contents:
- When do we need to take antibiotics?
- Antibiotic side effects
- Types of antibiotics
- Things you should not do while taking antibiotics
Have you been advised to eat or take antibiotics when you are sick? Some people think that antibiotics are a cure for all diseases, while others prefer to stop medication when their bodies feel better. How is the actual use of antibiotics properly and correctly? Here are some things you need to know about antibiotics.
When do we need to take antibiotics?
- When the infection can only be cured by giving antibiotics
- When the infection is able to spread to other people if not treated immediately
- When using antibiotics it can speed up the healing period for infections, such as kidney infections
- When an infection has an impact, complications are more serious if not treated immediately such as pneumonia
Antibiotic side effects
Antibiotics may be able to fight bacterial infections, but they are not without side effects. Some of the risks you may get after taking antibiotics include:
- Some of the side effects include diarrhea, nausea and vomiting
- Potential to develop other infections
- Some specific antibiotics affect allergies in some people
Types of antibiotics
- Oral antibiotics. Most of the antibiotics are of this type. They come in the form of tablets, capsules or liquid. Oral antibiotics are usually designed to fight infections with mild to moderate effects on the body.
- Topical antibiotics. Usually this type of antibiotic is in the form of a cream, lotion or spray.
- Antibiotic injection. Injectable antibiotics are usually designed to fight infections with more serious effects on the body than other types of antibiotics.
Things you should not do while taking antibiotics
While you are on medication that requires you to take antibiotics, there are things you can and shouldn't do. This is because according to Larissa May, an expert in emergency medicine, taking antibiotics might kill some bacteria but then leave some other resistant bacteria, which then grow and develop in your body. Here are some things you shouldn't do while on antibiotics:
- Not finishing off the drug. Don't stop taking your medication when you feel much better. It may kill bacteria, but only a few. Bacteria that have been resistant will come back with a stronger resistance, even later when the same disease recurs.
- Changing the doctor's dosage. Do not reduce the dose that has been prescribed by your doctor. Antibiotics are also not recommended to be consumed at the same time two times when you forget to take medication. This will actually increase the potential for antibiotics to become resistant, or other side effects such as abdominal pain and diarrhea.
- Share antibiotics with others. This will actually delay healing and trigger bacterial immunity. A person's antibiotic needs vary, so your antibiotic dose is not necessarily the same as someone else's.
- Take antibiotics to prevent infection. Antibiotics cannot prevent infection. So don't think about using an antibiotic to avoid an infection.
- Taking antibiotics to treat diseases caused by viruses. Antibiotics can only fight bacteria, not viruses.
- Leaving antibiotics for pain later on.Because antibiotics must be taken completely or according to the dosage your doctor prescribes, leaving antibiotics means you didn't meet all the required doses. After all, the next time you get sick, you will still need new prescriptions and doses, not just continuing the previous one.
So how? Have you been using antibiotics correctly so far?
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