Antibiotics are a certain category of drugs that can kill the harmful bacteria in our bodies.  There are hundreds, if not thousands, of types of antibiotics, each used to combat a certain bacterial infection.  Antibiotics work by targeting a specific type of bacteria within our body and killing it or making it very difficult for it to grow and reproduce.  (Keep in mind that bacteria are living things – they’re like little creatures that move in to your body without being invited.)  It’s important to remember that not all bacteria is bad – certain types are very important in everyday life, such as the bacteria that break up sweat and the ones that help us to digest our food.  Because there are so many types of bacteria, specific antibiotics are made to target just the ones that are making you sick and leave the healthy ones alone. 

Antibiotics are very important in fighting bacterial infections, but they have their drawbacks as well.  Firstly, antibiotics are useless against viral infections.  Remember, antibiotics work by ending or interfering with the reproductive or life cycles of bacteria, which are living things.  Viruses are not living things at all – they are little bundles of genetic information that cannot be killed or destroyed by antibiotics.  (Antiviral drugs work by suppressing, or controlling, the extent to which viruses can attack your body.  However, since viruses are not living things, they cannot be killed.  Viruses often stay in your body in a dormant, or inactive, state after they have been subdued by antiviral medication or your immune system, a built in bodily defense mechanism.  For example, if you’ve ever had the chicken pox, you’ve had a virus.  Since the virus will actually never leave your body, it is very rare that you will get the initial symptoms of the infection again – which is why you only “get “chicken pox once.)  Some people think that antibiotics can be used to cure any ailment, which is not true at all.  For example, the flu and the common cold are viral infections which cannot be cured by antibiotics.  Using antibiotics inappropriately can lead to a serious problem called antibiotic resistance.

Antibiotic resistance occurs when the harmful bacteria in your body are no longer threatened by antibacterial medications.  This can happen in several ways.  “Hiding” from the antibiotic by changing the messages it sends within your body, or developing a new defense mechanism to keep the drug out, are just two of the ways in which bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics.  Antibiotic resistance often occurs when a certain antibiotic is overused or misused.  If an antibiotic is overused, the bacteria have many chances to figure out ways to block the drug.  For this reason, people who develop Strep Throat or other bacterial infections frequently should be careful about how often they take a certain antibiotic.  Usually, a person cannot be on an antibiotic for more than four cycles without the bacteria developing some sort of resistance.  For this same reason, antibiotics should never be used unless they are necessary.  Overuse can lead to a strengthening of the germs that make you sick.  Because of “over sanitation,” or the overuse of antibacterial and antibiotic products, bacterial infections are becoming less treatable by the older antibiotics.