Modern antibiotics: efficiency and side effect

The drugs stopping or oppressing life activity of pathogenic microorganisms are widely applied in clinical practice from 40th years of the last century. Originally antibiotics were called only substances natural (animal, vegetable or microbic) origins, but over time this concept extended, and it includes also semi-synthetic and completely artificial antibacterial drugs.

Use of antibiotics in therapy of various diseases

Today more than 2000 substances capable to destroy causative organisms are known or to slow down process of their reproduction, but as drugs about 50 of them are used. From the moment of the beginning of mass production of penicillin (in 1943) drugs of similar action quite strongly changed. The researches aiming at the invention of new antibiotics went the next ways:

• Discovery of substances, active concerning several microorganisms (antibiotics of a broad spectrum of activity). The matter is that in many cases even specialists cannot precisely define what microbe caused pathological process (or the analysis such cannot be made quickly), and treatment has to be begun immediately in order to avoid development of heavy complications. In such situation antibiotics of a broad spectrum of activity are irreplaceable;
• The invention of the narrowly targeted drugs capable it is selective to oppress life activity of certain bacteria. If responsible for a disease is precisely known, there is a sense to apply that substance to which it is most sensitive. Besides, it is possible to choose that which will create the minimum side effects at the specific patient from a number of such means.

Over time scientists faced a problem of accustoming of infestants to antibiotics. The matter is that any of these substances does not kill all pathogenic microbes in an organism, and those from bacteria which survive, breed. The properties doing them insensitive (resistant) to effect of drug genetically are fixed in succeeding generations of bacteria. It turns out that disease medicine exists, but against the activator it is already not so effective. Therefore a considerable part of researches of the last years was directed to creation of the antibiotics capable to fight against new modifications of the known pathogenic microorganisms.

Many substances possessing bacteriostatic action are very toxic concerning cells of a human body or the useful microflora living in a digestive tract, respiratory tracts etc. Scientists worked also on reducing amount of side effects and to make use of antibiotics safer.

The drugs of new generation possessing a broad spectrum of activity are applied in therapy of respiratory diseases and urinogenital system, ENT organs, bacterial meningitis, diphtheria and other heavy illnesses. Narrowly targeted antibiotics help to struggle with such diseases which causative agents it is possible to define unambiguously (for example, with tuberculosis). By the way, in the field of the invention of antitubercular drugs significant progress on reduction of the general toxicity of medicines was made.

The dangers connected with treatment by antibiotics

In spite of the fact that many bacteriostatic drugs of the last generations do not make serious negative impact on a human body, reception of antibiotics did not become safer, than earlier. This paradox is connected, first of all, with the fact that drugs of similar action became too usual "inhabitants" of home first-aid kits. To a certain extent physicians also are guilty of it: within several decades they appointed antibiotics extremely actively, and sometimes without special need. As a result the reputation rather harmless and capable to cure anything was assigned to such drugs. Both lie. Antibiotics do not suit for therapy of flu, a SARS, hepatitises and any other illnesses of the virus nature at all. Patients, as a rule, do not know about it (by data VCIOM, nearly a half of Russians believes that seasonal viral infections are treated by antibiotics). This delusion is supported also by the fact that doctors really appoint bacteriostatic drugs when flu or a SARS is complicated by a consecutive bacterial infection. As for side effect of antibiotics, they can really cause allergic reactions, disturbances of work of a GIT, kidneys and some other internals. Levomycetinums, tetracyclines and antitubercular drugs in this respect are considered the most dangerous.

The main harm of use of antibiotics is connected not so much with their qualities how many with misuse of such means. For example, many Russians find it possible to appoint reception of antibiotics to themselves and the relatives without consultation with the doctor. Such position is wrong and extremely dangerous. If the drug used for self-treatment is not active concerning an infestant at all, the illness continues to develop, and the organism which is already weakened by a disease is exposed to additional negative impact of medicine. The means having a wide range of activity can be suitable in a specific case, but it is correct to define a necessary dosage and the mode of reception, without having special knowledge, it is impossible, and the instructions attached to drug are too general, and cannot consider specifics of a condition of each patient. Transition of a disease to a chronic form or development of complications can become result.

Sometimes it is difficult to understand the diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms even to the specialist. Different illnesses have similar symptoms, and the same disease can arise owing to infection with various activators. Therefore no antibiotic can be accepted on the ground that it helped your friend (relative) or you "last time". Only the doctor can appoint such means, and the patient has to follow his recommendations steadily.

It should be noted one more nuance: uncontrolled reception of antibiotics does harm not only to fans of self-treatment, but also other people. The matter is that misuse of bacteriostatic means leads to distribution of pathogenic microorganisms, resistant (steady) against the existing drugs. And it means that patients who will be infected in the near future can not receive adequate treatment. Accepting antibiotics, it is necessary to remember not only about own health, but also some share of social responsibility which demands competent approach to treatment.