The Importance Of Antimicrobial And Antibiotics

Do you know how to use antibiotics correctly? Firstly, it is important to make a distinction between antimicrobial and antibiotic. Antimicrobial is any compounds that would be used to treat or prevent numerous infections, and could be included anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-protozoal (HMA Definitions, 2012). Antibiotic, or anti-bacterial, is a drug made by substances obtained by different microorganisms and fungi, and it is used to treat bacterial infections, avoiding the growth or killing the bacteria. The first antibiotic was penicillin, and it was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928 (Davies, 2010). Alexander Fleming took vacations and forgot his petri dishes at his table without protection (Rosenberg). When he returned,

As mentioned before, the super bacteria are developed and become stronger due to noncompliance with medical recommendations. This form of infection can be fatal since there are several types of antibiotics. If a person has an antibiotic-resistant bacteria, doctors will recommend another antibiotic, yet the new one will be more toxic and potent that the common-used drug. An example would be about the gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted disease. The therapy was just penicillin, but nowadays, penicillin does not work; it is necessary the use of either fluoroquinolones or cephalosporins (Antibiotic resistance, 2011), which are potent antibiotics when it is compared with penicillin. The new antibiotics drugs development is being stimulated by the government agencies. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced only one new antibiotic in the period from 2008-2012 (Dantas & Morten, 2014). Therefore, doctors must guide their patients about how use correctly the antibiotics to avoid stronger medicine that can have more side

First, antibiotics can lose their effects, because the population is exposed it in different ways; for example, plants and animals that are treated with antibiotics that are similar to those used for human. Some antibiotics that are used in the wrong moments generate the biggest problem: bacterium resistance. The bacterium will survive, and the treatment will not be effective, causing the antibiotic useless for some treatments. Second, many drugs will have side effects, and when a person constantly uses, it not only will cause acute effects, but also will cause chronic effects that can be fatal. Chronic effects are severe, because they can affect the liver and kidney that are responsible for cleansing the human organism, excreting useless or toxic metabolites. Third, there are interactions of antibiotics with other substances that affect the treatment, causing either more or fewer effects. The commonest examples are oral contraceptive, which loses its effects, and alcohol, which increase side effects. However, there is still no evidence that proves these results. Nevertheless, doctors do not recommend drinking alcohol and antibiotic together, and use alternative contraceptive methods when the woman is on antibiotic therapy. For these reasons, the misuse of antibiotics is dangerous; may decrease the treatment efficiency, have side effects and interact with other