LYCOS RETRIEVER
Antibiotics: Body
built 647 days ago
Antibiotics may be given by injection, orally, or topically. When given orally, they must be absorbed into the body and transported by the blood and extracellular fluids to the site of the infecting organisms. When they are administered topically, such absorption is rarely possible, and the antibiotics then exert their effect only against those organisms present at the site of application.
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The activity of antibiotics was discovered by Alexander Fleming (Source: PBS Online) ; and his story proves that antibiotics are not a human invention but a discovery. Antibiotics are produced by microorganisms (often molds) which don't want to share their nutrients with competitors. See here how a penicillium mold inhibits the growth of Staphylococcus bacteria (Access excellence). Nowadays antibiotics can be produced chemically to make them stronger and safer. Certain antibiotics act against certain groups of bacteria. Thus your physician can prescribe you the right stuff to treat your sore throat without wiping out all bacteria in your body.
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Still another problem that has plagued the medical profession from the beginning with modern antibiotics has been that beneficial bacteria and organisms play various important, natural functions in the body. Antibiotics often play havoc with some of these friendly organisms, producing long-lasting side effects that may be difficult to correct. Science Digest suggested an answer to all of these catastrophic problems back in March of 1978 in an article titled "Our Mightiest Germ Fighter." This article by Jim Powell stated: "Thanks to eye-opening research, silver is emerging as a wonder of modern medicine. An antibiotic kills perhaps a half-dozen different disease organisms, but silver kills some 650. Resistant strains fail to develop. Moreover, silver is virtually non-toxic."
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Bacteriocins are ... a growing alternative to the classic small-molecule antibiotics [17]. Different classes of bacteriocins have different potential as therapeutic agents. Small molecule bacteriocins (microcins, for example, and lantibiotics) may be similar to the classic antibiotics; colicin-like bacteriocins are more likely to be narrow-spectrum, demanding new molecular diagnostics prior to therapy but also not raising the specter of resistance to the same degree. One drawback to the large molecule antibiotics is that they will have relative difficulty crossing membranes and travelling systemically throughout the body. For this reason, they are most often proposed for application topically or gastrointestinally[18]. Because bacteriocins are peptides, they are more readily engineered than small molecules[19].
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There are other precautions you should take when on antibiotics. Antibiotics not only kill harmful bacteria that are making you sick, they ... destroy the beneficial flora in your gut and can promote the development of resistant organisms in your body. To restore the helpful organisms, be sure to take supplemental acidophilus while you're on antibiotics. Acidophilus is the general name for dried or liquid cultures of the living lactobacillus bacteria that aid digestion. Always check the expiration date to help ensure that the acidophilus product you choose is still viable. Take one tablespoon of the liquid culture or one to two capsules after meals, unless the label directs otherwise.
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For decades, the American Heart Association (AHA) recommended that patients with certain heart conditions take antibiotics shortly before dental treatment. This was done with the belief that antibiotics would prevent infective endocarditis (IE), previously referred to as bacterial endocarditis. IE is an infection of the heart’s inner lining or valves, which results when bacteria enter the bloodstream and travel to the heart. Bacteria normally are found in various sites of the body including on the skin and in the mouth.
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