Side effects of antibiotics

There are many types of medicines, and you cannot choose them casually, otherwise it will not help your health. Moreover, the wrong choice of medicine will not have any therapeutic effect on the disease, and will also make the disease more serious. You must understand this point. What are the side effects of antibiotics? Many people are not very clear about it.

When choosing antibiotics, you need to have a good understanding of all aspects of it so that you can use it with confidence and it will not cause any harm to human health. You can choose it with confidence.

The role of antibiotics:

There are four main mechanisms for the bactericidal effect of antibiotics: inhibiting the synthesis of bacterial cell walls, interacting with cell membranes, interfering with protein synthesis, and inhibiting the transcription and replication of nucleic acids.

The process of sterilization mechanism

Inhibits cell wall synthesis

Inhibiting cell wall synthesis can cause bacterial cells to rupture and die. Antimicrobial drugs that work in this way include penicillins and cephalosporins. Mammalian cells do not have cell walls and are not affected by these drugs. The cell wall of bacteria is mainly peptidoglycan, and the organelle that synthesizes peptide chains is the ribosome, which is the only organelle of bacteria. However, frequent use can lead to increased bacterial resistance.

The achievement of this effect depends on a protein in the bacterial cell wall, usually called penicillin-binding protein (PBPs). β-lactam antibiotics can bind to this protein and inhibit the synthesis of the cell wall, so PBPs are also the target of this type of drug.

Interaction with cell membrane

Some antibiotics interact with the cell membrane and affect the permeability of the membrane, which can have lethal effects on the cells. Antibiotics that act in this way are polymyxins and gramicidins.

Interference with protein synthesis Interference with protein synthesis means that enzymes necessary for cell survival cannot be synthesized. Antibiotics that interfere with protein synthesis include the mycins (actinomycins), aminoglycosides, tetracyclines, and chloramphenicol.

Inhibition of nucleic acid transcription and replication Inhibition of nucleic acid function prevents cell division and/or synthesis of required enzymes. Antibiotics that work in this way include nalidixic acid and dichloroacridine.

Through the above introduction, we have a good understanding of the effects of antibiotics, so we can rest assured when choosing such drugs. However, it should be noted that the method must be appropriate when using them, and experts will inform patients about the side effects of antibiotics before use.