To talk about the benefits of antibiotics, you need to know what types of antibiotics have been created to date and what advantages antibiotics of modern categories, including the strongest antibiotics of the latest generation, demonstrate against the background of their predecessors.
Pharmacology is developing rapidly, and the persistent opinion that any strong antibiotic causes a lot of harm to the body can no longer be considered consistent. Antibiotics of the new generation, among other important advantages, show that they can work carefully in relation to human vital systems, but at the same time effectively against pathogenic bacteria.
But this does not mean that you can prescribe an antibiotic yourself, even if laudatory reviews are written about it. Tablets and other dosage forms that are effective for one person may not be effective for another, since diseases that look similar at first glance could be caused by different bacteria.
There is also a tendency for harmful microorganisms to develop their own immunity to treatment, even with the use of a new, modern and popular drug. Forms of medicines can also act differently: antibiotics in tablets may fail in treatment, while injectable formulations will be more effective. Any antibiotic, even the safest, is recommended to be taken only as prescribed by a doctor.
Types of antibiotics for treatment
If we follow the accuracy of the wording, only natural compounds can rightfully be called antibiotics, and all others should be called antibacterial drugs (drugs). But from the point of view of convenience, all types of antipathogenic drugs – both natural and synthetic, and combined – are still called antibiotics.
Natural preparations are antibiotics of natural origin, produced from plants, fungi, living tissues and beneficial bacteria. In fact, drugs in this group can fight bacteria, viruses, and fungal infections at once. Efficiency and a large selection are not the only advantages of drugs with natural ingredients. High activity and minimal harm to the patient’s body are the main reasons why, in the presence of a wide variety of diseases and severity, treatment with natural antibiotics is primarily considered.
Among the most famous and commonly used preparations of natural origin are those based on penicillin and other microscopic fungi. These are cephalosporin antibiotics, among which drugs are distinguished already in 5 generations, there is also a separate inhibitor-protected group. Antifungals also fall into this category.
They are offered in the form of tablets, capsules, solutions for intramuscular injections, intravenous administration, powders (for suspension).
Biosynthetic (combined, semi-synthetic) – these types of drugs, like natural ones, are also obtained from plant materials, but during the production process they synthesize substances artificially.
Synthetic antibiotics in everyday speech are called a group of antibacterial chemotherapy drugs, completely synthesized in the laboratory, from components that have no natural analogues.
Despite the inaccuracies of terminology, an antibiotic is a drug that fights pathogenic bacteria that are the causative agents of various diseases. In modern medicine, doctors and patients use different antibiotics, representing many categories, to get the expected result, and all drugs have their advantages, but also some disadvantages. For example, over time, resistance of some bacteria to even the strongest antibiotics is developed, therefore, it is completely useless in the fight against the pathogen.
Another feature of the choice is the opinion that new generation drugs are always more effective than antibiotics discovered decades ago. This is not always true, since the choice of the most effective and safe medicines is individual and depends on the patient’s state of health, the type of pathogenic bacterium, the method of controlling the pathogen, and other important factors.
For example, one antibiotic acts to curb the growth of disease-causing bacteria, and such medicines are called bacteriostatic. Another way to combat the causative agent of the disease is the destruction of harmful microorganisms, and antibiotics of this action were given the name bactericidal.
Also, antibiotics can have a wide range of effects on pathogens, while others fight only in a directed way, with one type (or family) of harmful microorganisms. The doctor will help to accurately determine the most appropriate type of antibiotic that acts quickly, does not cause allergies, undesirable consequences. Self-administration of drugs is not welcome – even if there was already experience in using a similar antibiotic before.
Broad spectrum the strongest antibiotics
Doctors and patients remember this category very often, since the drugs of this group received high marks and good treatment results, they combine several types of medical support at once.
Such antibiotics successfully treat many diseases, since, in comparison with narrow-spectrum drugs, they affect several types of bacteria at once – more than 20 strains. Also, medicines have a more diverse form of release: in addition to the usual tablets and solutions for injections and droppers, manufacturers produce drugs in the form of suppositories, ointments, syrups and drops. This makes the use of any antibiotic convenient even for small children, when taking pills is not possible.
Such antibiotics successfully treat many diseases, the drugs are active against fungal infections and sexually transmitted diseases. Preference is given to such antibiotics in cases where the bacteria that cause inflammatory diseases are resistant to penicillin. An additional advantage is that with such antibiotics you do not need to monitor the diet, since they do not depend on food intake.
Narrow spectrum antibiotics
It is these drugs that have the strongest, well-pronounced action against most pathogenic bacteria, fungi and viruses. It would be more correct to call this group as follows: antibiotics of a narrow, mixed and intermediate spectrum. This means that the drugs of the category work directed, only on gram-positive or only on gram-negative flora. The advantage of such selectivity is that the effect of the antibiotic is targeted on a harmful bacterium, without harming the healthy microflora of the body.
The material is informational. Strongest antibiotics – Medicinal products are indicated as an example of their possible use and / or application, which is not a recommendation for their use. Before using drugs, be sure to consult a specialist.