What Are Antibiotics? What Precautions Must Be Taken While Taking Antibiotics?

By BYJU'S Exam Prep

Updated on: September 25th, 2023

Antibiotics are chemical compounds which are produced by microorganisms that can kill or reduce the growth of other microbes. It is better to take antibiotics udner the guidance of a physician.

Microbes in industrial products:

In the industrial environment, microbes are used to create a variety of substances that are healthy for people..
Examples – Beverages (wine, beer, whisky, brandy, or rum), Antibiotics (Penicillin).

Antibiotics:

The chemical substances known as antibiotics are made by specific microorganisms and have the ability to either kill or halt the growth of other (disease-causing) germs.
Our capacity to treat serious illnesses like leprosy, whooping cough, and plague has considerably improved because to them.
Penicillin was the first antibiotic to be discovered.

Precautions to be taken while using antibiotics are:

Only use antibiotics under the supervision of a qualified medical professional.
The doctor’s directions for the completion of the antibiotic course should be followed.
Antibiotics must be given in the right quantity and at the right time.
If an antibiotic is administered at the incorrect dosage, it is worthless.
The good microorganisms in our bodies could also be harmed by excessive pharmaceutical use.

Table of content

1. What Are Antibiotics? What Precautions Must Be Taken While Taking Antibiotics?

History of Antibiotics

Initially, microbes provided a natural source of antibiotics. Later, when synthetic technologies developed, synthetic antibiotics were also created. German bacteriologist Paul Ehrlich began hunting for a chemical that might destroy microorganisms in humans’ or animals’ bodies without harming either species’ health in the nineteenth century. After conducting numerous studies, he came across the drug arsphenamine, also known as salvarsan. Syphilis, a condition brought on by the spirochete bacterium, was treated with it. His discoveries on immunity earned him the 1908 Nobel Prize in medicine. Salvarsan did have some adverse effects on people, but the impacts on bacteria were far greater than on people.

A group of researchers at Bayer Laboratories found a medication called prontosil in 1932 that was comparable to the substance salvarsan, which when ingested turns into sulphanilamide.

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