Penicillin:- General information about antibiotics: How were the antibiotics discovered?
Scientists noticed when putting a group of bacteria together. That one of them secretes toxic substances that kill their neighbors from other bacteria. And by extracting these toxic substances it was found that some of them are in specific concentrations that are not harmful to the human body, and they were later called antibiotics.
And it was the first antibiotic that was done. His discovery is the old wizard Penicillin. And it is strange that penicillin. Which was discovered more than sixty years ago, is still used now in the form of intravenous and intramuscular injections. As it is used in the treatment of rheumatic fever. Where an extended-release injection is taken every 21 days or every month. And although it is considered the weakest antibiotic. It is the safest and has the least side effects
What are Bacteria and how does Penicillin Kill Them?
Bacteria are a microorganism that has no hands or two legs, no stomach or intestine. And the bacteria that cause infection harm a person and infect him with respiratory infections, tonsillitis, urinary tract infections, boils, and many innumerable diseases.
Of course, it is a very delicate organism that we can only see under a microscope and it can be described as like a soap bubble. Surrounding this bubble is a wall that protects and preserves its existence. And inside the wall are the devices that make it live. These devices are separate from each other and It floats in a liquid called plasma and the core of bacteria called nucleic acid.
Penicillin kills the bacteria by analyzing the outer wall of the bacterial cell. So its contents dissipate, and there are other antibodies that penetrate the bacterial cell wall and distort the heart of the bacteria, i.e. DNA.
Has Penicillin Been Developed?
Although penicillin is the father of antibiotics and the first in the discovery of antibiotics. It weakened them and it is only given by intramuscular or intravenous injection. And scientists have developed it so that they can give it orally and also so that it is more powerful against stubborn germs and they gave us a bunch. A large number of antibiotics that we have now, and we use them every day
Examples of antibiotics that scientists gave us?
Penicillin was discovered during the First World War and it was developed to be administered orally and not only by intramuscular or intravenous injection. And as a result of this development many antibiotics such as Ampicillin, Amoxicillin, Cloxacillin, Phenoxymethylpenicillin
Then a second group was discovered called the cephalosporin group. And it was observed that it is more effective than the first group. Especially against the microbes that cause boils and abscesses. Which causes contamination of surgical operations. And among the members of this group cephalexin, cefradine, cefadroxil, cefaclor, cefuroxime Cefixime.
The third group called the macrolide group was discovered. And this group now contains more effective antibodies than penicillin. Especially in respiratory infections, and a member of this group is given to a patient who has an allergy to penicillin. And examples of this group are, erythromycin – clarithromycin – Azithromycin
And a fourth group is considered one of the newest groups and is more effective in respiratory and urinary tract infections. But it cannot be used for children less than 10 years old and it is the Quinolone group. And from the members of this group, Norfloxacin for the urinary system – Befloxacin – Ofloxacin – Ciprofloxacin for the urinary and respiratory systems. And it is a broad-spectrum antagonist
There are other groups
There are other groups that are hardly used now due to their side effects. Such as chloramphenicol, which is only given in the case of typhoid fever, as well as the tetracycline and oxytetracycline group, whose use is limited to treating acne caused by bacteria and some other diseases such as some eye diseases ( Chlamydia). Which is affected by antacid drugs and food. So it is taken at least an hour after eating.
Antibiotics come from bacteria, and there is a group that is not antibiotics. Because they are 100% chemically synthesized. But they have a bactericidal effect, just like antibiotics called a group of sulfa drugs such as sulfamethoxazole-sulfametrol. You prepare 400 mg of sulfa with 80 mg of An antibacterial called trimethoprim is included in each tablet or spoonful of syrup to give a bactericidal effect.
What is the Difference Between These Antibiotics and Some of Them?
These antibodies all have in common that they kill harmful bacteria that infect the human body. But there is a weak antibiotic and a strong antibiotic, and there are effective antibodies in killing Gram-negative bacteria. And others comprehensive against Gram-negative and Gram-positive (broad-spectrum antibiotics)
What is the Meaning of a Strong or Weak Antibiotic?
Bacteria defend themselves with a substance that resists antibiotics. This substance is the enzyme beta-lactamase or penicillinase (and it was called that it degrades penicillin and neutralizes its effect)
And the antibiotic that can resist this substance we call it a strong or broad-spectrum antibiotic. And as for the antibiotic that cannot withstand this substance We call it a weak antibiotic. The strange thing is that there is no single antibiotic that kills 100% of all strains of bacteria.
Also, bacteria develop their antibiotic-resistant enzymes to be able to resist the largest possible number of antibiotics. And mutate into antibiotic-resistant strains, to the point that many bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics. Especially ancient antibiotics such as ampicillin. So much so that we can say that ampicillin is an antibiotic very weak. And the US Food and Drug Administration advised the FDA to stop its production. Especially the forms that are given orally because it is affected by food and only 40% of it absorbs into the blood
What are the Means by Which the Body Defends Itself?
The body defends itself in several ways, including:
The thick hair that covers the nose from the inside prevents the entry of many microbes during the breathing process. The sticky secretions found in the nose, mouth, and throat, as well as there, are cilia inside the trachea that the microbe adheres to and prevents it from entering the body
But if the microbe is able to cross these barriers, there is a strong defense wall inside the human blood. Which are the immune bodies that resist any foreign microbe entering the body. But more than that there are white blood cells that devour any foreign microbe entering the body
But if the body’s immunity is weakened. Then the microbe begins its activity and multiplies inside the body until a fierce battle begins between the microbe and the white blood cells. And it is strange that the body doubles the number of blood cells that attack the microbe and announces its protest and expresses this with a high temperature.
Why Does the Body Temperature Rise During Infection with Bacteria?
If the bacteria hit the body, in the form of its respiratory system or the tonsils. For example, then the body. As we mentioned, fights it with white blood cells. And the product of destruction from these battles is white blood cells soldiers, and dead bacteria. These soldiers that died are considered toxic substances that raise the body temperature and cause weakness in All cells of the body.
This is what the patient expresses with general fatigue and weakness of his strength, and the Creator. Almighty and Sublime, wanted the rise in the body temperature to be evidence of the necessity of the patient’s presentation to the doctor quickly to prescribe antibiotics, fever reducer. And other medications needed for the situation
You now know that giving an antipyretic only in the case of a bacterial infection is not a sufficient solution to the problem. But the solution is to give the appropriate antibiotic to kill this microbial infection.
Leave a Reply