Antibiotics are among the most important medicinal substances, and have already saved millions of lives. However, physicians were now to be generous. As a result, the once-powerful weapons have lost power. The most important questions and answers to antibiotics.
- Many people are unsure what infections, antibiotics can help.
- The medication should never be taken off easily with intimately.
- These facts you should know about antibiotics.
An average of around five days per year, German take antibiotics. Unfortunately, Doctors don’t prescribe the medication, only against severe bacterial infections, against which they act. Give antibiotics against banal flues that have not been triggered by bacteria, but viruses.
The effect fizzles out in these cases, because against colds, the substances do not attack.
Bacteria become immune to antibiotics
Many patients do not know about the risks and Benefits of antibiotics are modest and you take too often. In this way, the risk of resistance increases. That means that bacteria are immune to the former miracle weapon of the medicine. The consequences could be dramatic. FOCUS Online spoke with Christoph Spinner from the Infectious diseases outpatient clinic of the University hospital rechts der Isar in Munich:
1. When help antibiotics?
Basically, against serious bacterial infections, but not against viruses. In the outpatient area, their main use are urinary tract infections, and lung areas of inflammation, in the clinic, infections of the skin and soft tissues as well as blood poisoning, i.e., Sepsis. Best offer on BestCheck.de
2. What is their effect?
The different groups of substances act on different paths. The a prevent bacteria divide, which triggered an infection, to destroy others. Both methods are effective. No longer can share the bacteria, the immune system of the Rest easily.
3. What are the antibiotics there are, what are the most important groups of active substances?
These are penicillins, cephalosporins, sulfonamide combinations, Tetracycline, macrolides, nitroimidazoles, aminoglycosides, gyrase inhibitors.
4. As patients should take antibiotics? There are guidelines that apply to all agents?
This is very different and depends on the disease and its Severity. The doctor prescribed a specific antibiotic in the right concentration and the right treatment duration. A apply however, for each of the antibiotics application: The Patient should adhere strictly to the instructions of the doctor and the treatment does not prematurely cancel.
5. Why is this important?
The modern antibiotic treatment is short, but concise, so purposeful and high-dose. Often the symptoms have disappeared, therefore, already on the second day of taking much better or even. That means that the body has the infection under control, the potent remnants of the bacteria are still there. Thus, the antibiotic may also make this harmless, the Patient should take it as long as the doctor has recommended.
6. However, certain foods can impair the effect of the antibiotics. How, for example, with milk, I must refrain, during the duration of the Antibiotic use?
This relates to the Doxycycline, you belong to the group of Tetracyclines. They have large molecules that can form with milk to form a complex. So you are bound and can no longer work.
7. Other foods, such as Grapefruit should also change the effect?
The subject macrolides, because these are metabolized in the liver. Grapefruit however, in this enzyme function. Therefore, it is correct to refrain, during the taking of macrolides on grapefruit, there are only a couple of days.
8. What is it with alcohol plus antibiotics?
Basically, it is not convenient to drink during a bacterial infection of alcohol. The body fights against the disease and will need to in addition not even with the removal of the alcohol employ. In addition, the effect of alcohol can be much more, because due to inflammation the blood flow is particularly intensive distributed so alcohol much faster. Especially risky alcohol plus metronidazole from the group of nitroimidazoles. This can lead to dangerous dizziness, Nausea, and vomiting.
9. Why occurs as a side effect of frequent diarrhea?
Most Doctors use broad-spectrum antibiotics work against many different bacterial species. In this way, you want to quickly and safely also the pathogenic bacteria to eliminate. At the same time, the active ingredient, however, destroyed in the gut of useful bacteria, or your balance (intestinal flora). This leads to diarrhea, which can occur up to 60 days after the Antibiotic use. In very rare cases, can reproduce by the use of antibiotics, the intestinal bacterium Clostridium difficile. It is toxic, it can destroy the intestinal mucosa and leads to massive diarrhea. The at-risk group of older people, especially if you are taking stomach acid blockers. The acid protects against bacteria.
10. To get women, after you have taken antibiotics, often fungal vaginal. Why?
This is in principle the same mechanism as with the diarrhea. The active ingredients affect the Vaginal Flora and fungus spores can multiply.
11. How can these side effects to prevent diarrhea and vaginal yeast infections?
With probiotics this can be prevented. Yoghurt, Kefir and Quark, and are therefore ideal to support the intestinal flora. Local applications with vaginal fungal ointments should be used if necessary. An effective prophylaxis against vaginal fungus, there is not unfortunately.
12. Why not help antibiotics against the common cold, sore throat or runny nose?
This is very important: banal flu-like symptoms are mostly viral infections. Antibiotics can’t fight viruses. Because viruses must replicate in cells. Bacteria are independent organisms and therefore more vulnerable. Virus infections needs to cure the body itself, there are hardly any drugs, except for Hepatitis B and C and HIV.
13. Why prescribe nevertheless, Doctors often antibiotics for colds?
This has improved in recent years. The awareness of this problem has become bigger, especially due to the dreadful example of animal fattening with its immense use of antibiotics and the associated resistance.
14. These antibiotic-resistant germs from animal mast also threaten people?
Not only eat meat, also about the length of animal transport, as well as the meat processing industry is possible. Sure, there are numerous rules of hygiene in the slaughterhouses. Nevertheless, it is possible that germs can enter the skin and spread.
15. How can we prevent antibiotic resistance?
In any case, antibiotics only when the doctor advises, then the drugs of its recommendation to apply the treatment at an early stage cancel. Also: no self-medication.
16. What is multi-resistant germs – it is only in the hospital?
Yes, and although many think this is a new risk, is an ancient phenomenon. As the Millennium was thawed out by old blocks of ice, were already multi-drug resistant bacteria. Because nature always develops after the escape mechanism to survive in any case – the germs also. Part of this is that you develop resistance. By the way, five to ten percent of people are colonized with these germs to develop. Dangerous they are only if complex diseases – which is the case for many patients in the hospital.
17. World’s the fear, that the former miracle weapon against bacteria become dull. For example, there is tuberculosis, against which no antibiotic will help.
The phenomenon of MDR (Multiple Drug Resistance) is without question. However, especially against resistant TB has recently approved a new antibiotic, Bedaquiline. Thus, the active ingredient groups of antibiotics are exhausted, however fairly, a lot more will probably be developed. The emphasis now is to avoid infections, antibiotic keyword hospital hygiene, less use of Antibiotics in animal fattening and, of course, for the people only if they are really necessary.
