wever, when you go in search of such miracles in the form of antibiotics, could you be doing more harm than good?
To deter you from the unnecessary use of antibiotics, here I will explain how bacteria gain resistance to help you better understand why it is so important to only take antibiotics when absolutely necessary, and ensure you take them correctly.
First of all we should establish what antibiotics are actually for: BACTERIAL infections (e.g. chest infections, pneumonia, UTIs (urinary tract infections) etc.), NOT viruses (e.g. the common cold, flu etc.). Secondly, it should be stated that it is the bacteria itself which becomes resistant, NOT us as individuals.
So how does bacteria develop resistance? Bacterial cells divide and multiply rapidly. As a result, mutations will arise because the bacterial DNA is copied too quickly and thus, errors in the DNA sequence will occur. When an antibiotic is taken to combat a bacterial infection, some bacterial cells may possess mutations which make them resistant to the drug. As with natural selection, those bacterial cells which are resistant to the drug will survive even after a full course of antibiotics. You are likely to feel better, and not notice the infection anymore as the number of resistant cells would be negligible. However, these cells will stick around, divide and reproduce. Therefore, the next time you get this infection, there are more of the resistant cell type present and as a result, the symptoms you experience may not clear as the antibiotic will not have the desired effect, killing the bacteria. Eventually, your GP will give you another antibiotic which appears to get rid of the infection and you continue as usual. However, new mutations in the bacteria may have arisen as the infection grew, and so the resistance continues.