Question

Define ‘Antibiotic’ and What are ‘broad-spectrum antibiotics’?

Answer 1

An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance that is active against bacteria.

• These medicines either stop bacteria from reproducing or destroy them.
• The reason is before bacteria can even multiply and cause symptoms, the immune system kills them.
• Antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention of bacterial infections.
• Oldest antibiotics are Penicillins and they are generally safe.

Broad-spectrum antibiotics are used when a bacterial infection is suspected but the group of bacteria is unknown.

• These antibiotics are active against a wider number of bacterial types and therefore, they are used to treat a variety of infectious diseases.
• Powerful broad-spectrum antibiotics possess specific risk.
• Example of a broad-spectrum antibiotic is ampicillin, amoxicillin and chloramphenicol.
• Narrow spectrum antibiotics and broad-spectrum antibiotics, both types work to treat infections but using broad-spectrum antibiotics when not needed can create antibiotic-resistant that are not easy to treat.
• They often cause side effects such as rashes or diarrhoea.