What are anti biotics?
Antibiotics!
A fancy word for the non medicos, isn't it? These wonder drugs, have proved
their efficacy in quite a few simple infections of the nose, the oral
cavity to a lot more complicated infections such as brain infections ,syphilis etc. They can be
broadly classified depending on their mechanism of action. They basically act
on the bacteria or virus or parasite causing the infection, and render the
pathogen ineffective, thereby rendering the patient, free of infection. Since
it's discovery, anti biotics have been very well exploited till date for their
unquestioned efficiency. Sir Alexander, accidently discovered the use of penicillin
as a drug against bacterial infection, and thus began the advent of the use of
anti biotics in day to day life.
The picture
Today, it's
a common practice to prescribe an anti biotic for the simplest of infection, of
the throat, of the nose, given their efficiency. The traditional resorts of
gargling, taking a steam have been very well become a part of history. Since
it's so easy to consume a tablet and get cured, antibiotics have become the
run-up resort today, even for the slightest of infections. With such liberal
use of antibiotics, a condition called antibiotic resistance has grown over the
years.
How does the resistance occur?
Antibiotic resistance means the resistance of the pathogen ( mostly
bacterias) and not the humans, to the
antibiotics. The bacterias, upon repetitive exposure to these antibiotics, have
developed ways to evade their destruction by the same. It won't be exactly
wrong to quote Darvin’s survival hypothesis, about the survival of the fittest.
The weaker bacterias are susceptible to antibiotic action, and some of them
have thus developed some stronger strains, to prevent their own lysis, by these
drugs. This therefore is a boon to the bacterial life, but a curse to the
human.
How do we prevent this catastrophe?
To prevent this disastrous catastrophe
from preceeding further, there is now need for apt education about how to
prescribe antibiotics. Injudicial prescription will only lead to worsening of
this grave problem and this needs to be stopped, at source.
With this view, the WHO has initiated a
World antibiotic week from 16-22 November 2016; framing this problem that we've
been facing. The initiative thrives to encourage healthy medical practices and
judicial use of anti biotics .
Using information, education and communication
as it's basic agenda, the WHO intends to spread awareness about this on-
the-rise disaster to the general physicians, health practitioners and even
hospital setups, wherein minor conferences and seminars have been undertaken to
promote the same message. Antibiotic resistance is undoubtedly a major setback
in the field of clinical medicine and NEEDS to be stopped at source. With
judicial prescription of antibiotics and resorting to
traditional methods of basic health care, this sequelae can be avoided.
