Antibiotics are powerful germ-fighting medicines that can help stop infections and save lives. But they can cause side effects, and overuse can lead to antibiotic resistance. When bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, they can no longer be killed by the medicines. This can lead to serious and sometimes life-threatening infections.
There are many different kinds of antibiotics, but most fall into one of the following groups. Your doctor will prescribe the right kind of antibiotic for your infection, based on the type of bacteria making you sick, where it is located in your body, and other factors like your age, medical history, and any other medicines you are taking.
The antibiotics your provider prescribes will be in pill, capsule, or liquid form. They can also be given topically (such as as a cream or eye ointment) or through an IV (for more serious infections). Most antibiotics work by killing the bacteria or stopping them from multiplying, but some are not very effective against certain types of bacteria and may take much longer to work than others.
Some types of antibiotics are very broad-spectrum, meaning that they kill or stop the growth of lots of different kinds of bacteria. Other antibiotics are more specific and only kill certain types of bacteria. Some examples are strep throat, urinary tract infections, and E. coli infections.
Overuse of antibiotics has led to the emergence of “super bacteria” that are resistant to many different antibiotics. These bacteria are harder to treat and can spread more easily than the normal, non-resistant strains of bacteria. This can lead to more illness and longer hospital stays for patients, as well as increased death rates.