Do All Bugs Need Drugs? What is An Antibiotic...

The subject of today's entry is "antibiotics". What are they? What do they work on?

When we use the term "antibiotic" generally we are referring to a pharmaceutical drug that kills bacteria. Technically speaking this term could actually apply to any chemical that kills bacteria; however, when you read the term used on say "antibacterial soap" it generally means that some sort of drug is an additive. 

Focusing our discussion down to antibiotics as pharmaceuticals, they are designed to inhibit some part of the bacterial life cycle. Inside a cell, (all cells) there are many complicated biochemical reactions going on. An antibacterial drug is generally designed, or discovered, to inhibit, or change these pathways is some way. Different drugs do different things. Penicillin, and drugs in the penicillin family (generally end in "cillin" eg amoxycillin) prevent bacteria from multiplying. This then allows your body's natural immune system to kill the foreigners. Other antibiotics, clindamyacin, vancomyacin (I may have misspelled these-my apologies), are designed to inhibit different pathways in the bacteria. 

Some antibiotics are stronger than others, possibly targeting many pathways. Some are weaker.   Penicillin is generally weaker, where clindamyacin is quite strong. Usually, you take an antibiotic appropriate for the virulence of the bacterial infection. A simple staph (staphylococcus-the normal skin bacteria) infection isn't going to require a harsh antibiotic like clindamyacin. That particular antibiotic is saved for infections with more robust bacteria that have proven to be resistant to other antibiotics.

Why might this be important? Well don't forget that you have natural bacterial symbiotes that are actually helpful to you. For example, the E. coli bacteria in your intestine are essential for digestion. Taking antibiotics don't just kill the unwanted, interloping bacteria, but will also kill the good ones too. This is one of the side effects of antibiotic use is diarrhea. Yeast infections in women are also common because there are natural bacteria in the vagina and killing them can result in an upset in the balance of the natural fauna, giving yeast a chance to get out of control. Uncomfortable, but treatable.

One thing that all of us need to be diligent about is responsible antibiotic use. By using them inappropriately means that the bacteria will evolve (yes we believe in evolution on this site) and then the antibiotics will no longer be effective. Using antibiotics with a viral infection is one of the common ways to misuse antibiotics. Colds, flus etc. are viruses and therefore antibiotics are not going to work. Soap and hot water is effective enough for the most types of germs that you want off your hands. Alcohol based hand sanitizers are also useful.