What is an antibiotic?
An antibiotic is a powerful medication designed to kill bacteria or stop them from growing. They are most commonly prescribed for illnesses caused by bacteria, like strep throat and ear infections. They cannot cure illnesses caused by viruses, such as a cold or the flu. Different antibiotics may be used for different types of bacterial infections. Only your health care provider can determine what infection you have and which antibiotic is appropriate to treat it.
An antibiotic is a powerful medication designed to kill bacteria or stop them from growing. They are appropriately prescribed for illnesses caused by bacteria, like strep throat and many ear infections. They cannot cure illnesses caused by viruses, such as a cold or the flu. Different antibiotics may be used for different types of bacterial infections. Only your health care provider can determine what infection you have and which antibiotic is appropriate to treat it.
An antibiotic is a medicine that kills or inhibits the growth of microbes, such as bacteria and fungi. The term “antibiotic” originally referred to a natural compound produced by a fungus or another microorganism that kills bacteria which cause disease in humans or animals. Alexander Fleming discovered the first antibiotic, penicillin, in 1927. Some antibiotics may be synthetic compounds (not produced by microorganisms) that can also kill or inhibit the growth of microbes. Technically, the term “antimicrobial agent” refers to both natural and synthetic compounds; however, many people use the word “antibiotic” to refer to both. Although antibiotics have many beneficial effects, their use has created the new problem of antibiotic resistance.
An antibiotic is any substance produced by a microorganism, i.e. bacteria or fungi, that it sends outside it’s cell to harm or kill another microorganism(4). The benefit is easy to see. If an organism is able to produce chemicals that inhibit or kill other nearby organisms, it has an advantage in competing for local resources. Technically, antibiotics are microbial or fungal products. But we are able to synthesize and mass produce these chemical substances in the laboratory to use against harmfull microorganisms in our environment. There is a distinction between natural and synthetic antibiotics, but in practice most drugs used to combat microbial and fungal infections are grouped under the general heading “antibiotics”(5). Contrary to what many people believe, antibiotics are ineffective when it comes to treating a virus, such as the flu and most colds and coughs. In addition, medical journals report that taking antibiotics unnecessarily can kill sensitive bacteria while leaving resis
