Antibiotics

Antibiotics came about when Alexander Fleming in 1929, observed a discarded petri dish covered with mold. The mold, of the kind that grows on stale bread, had annihilated the germs in the dish. He was at the time a doctor working in the laboratory at St. Mary's Hospital in London, England. He knew he was on to something and alerted the world of his findings.

Later, about ten years later, other scientists began the actual process of creating penicillin, the first miracle drug to be classified as such. It was during World War II that the world of medicine began to take notice of the new drug that was needed to help save the lives of the soldiers.

Once scientist were alerted to the disease fighting properties of molds, they began to experiment and other forms of penicillin have since been created. This is necessary since bacteria often resists their arrest. Today, antibiotics are being overused, and that leads to scientists being ever vigilant in efforts to outsmart the bacteria. Left unchecked the germs become resistant to the drugs.

To get around drug resistance, doctors recommend that antibiotics be used only for specific reasons, and only when necessary. They believe that resistance happens when only part of the disease-carrying bacteria are killed, when enough are left to rebound and fight the drug. For this reason, patients are to follow instructions carefully; take all the prescribed dosage and to take on time. This is to ensure that they all have been wiped out and will not return more powerful than ever.

Another precaution is not to run to the doctor insisting on an antibiotic for a cold or for mild flu-like symptoms. Save the antibiotics for serious illnesses such as life-threatening pneumonia and other serious conditions. Only then will the antibiotic story be what it was meant to be, a miracle drug.