Incredible Ways that Penicillins Does in Your Body and Facts You Should Know About It

Bacterial infections are a severe illness that everyone should be aware of. It can weaken the immune system of our body. Good thing we have medications we can use against bacteria which is antibiotic. They stop the growth of bacteria in your body that can cause infections.

There are different types of antibiotics that you should know; you must fully understand each purpose. There is a specific antibiotic for each bacteria, so learn more of them. Let us start from the first antibacterial drug that was found in a blob of mold on a dish which is penicillin.

What is Penicillins?

It is a group of antibacterial that attacks the wall or the coat of bacteria until it dies. Penicillins are made from Penicillium fungi, and it saved millions of lives during the late 19th when the death due to infections are increasing to thirty percent. It was recorded that penicillin was the first antibacterial used by the doctors, and Alexander Flemming discovered it.

Since then, it helped a lot of people who are suffering from infections, and fortunately, it works to most of the population that only one percent of people are allergic to penicillin. Nowadays, there are many different brands of penicillin available in the market, such as amoxicillin and Ampicillin Trihydrate.

These are the commonly used antibiotics of many because of its effectivity, and you can try to get them at a lower price by using ampicillin coupon. Before taking any antibiotic, make sure to talk your doctor about it.

How Does it Work to Your Body?

Penicillin works by indirectly bursting the cell walls of the bacteria and a direct attack on the peptidoglycans. It works as a mesh around the plasma membrane of the bacterial cells and strengthens the cell walls to avoid the external fluids and preventing it from entering the cell. If the cell walls are broken, there will be no chances for the bacterium to multiply and to produce peptidoglycans.

Penicillin is also responsible for blocking the protein that connects the peptidoglycans. That is why it is essential to complete the full course of medication to make sure that the antibiotic will work effectively until it successfully breaks the cell wall of the bacteria and to stop it from growing and multiplying.

How Does Resistance Happen?

In most circumstances penicillins works but in case you are wondering why it stops working to some people then it is because of resistance. People believe that it is because of the person, but it is the bacteria itself who develop the resistance.

Because of its long existence, it slowly adapts to the environment, regenerates fastly until it is already adaptable to every change and becomes immune to the penicillin. If that happens, the medicine will no longer take effect as an antibiotic. There are common ways for the bacteria develops immunity to the penicillin, and that includes penicillinase. It is an enzyme that diminishes the penicillins.

The altered bacterial structure is also another way of immuning the bacteria by a subtle change of the binding of proteins in their peptidoglycan wall, and when that happens, the penicillin can no longer destroy the wall. Lastly, the bacteria have efflux pumps to release a substance that can remove the penicillin, and this is what we call the process of penicillin removal. Smart it is!

Side Effects and Risk

Despite how wonderful this medicine does to protect you against bacteria, it can also cause discomfort because of its side effects. You may experience diarrhea, nausea, headache,  and rasher or hives. But all of that is curable, and you can easily manage. If the symptoms become worse, then make sure to contact your doctor right away.

Because of these side effects, you may don’t want to take a risk in taking antibiotic if you are breastfeeding, if you have bleeding problems, taken contraceptives pills, battling with a cyst, Gastrointestinal issues, allergy in penicillin or if you have kidney disease. In case you will feel severe symptoms not listed above contact your doctor right away! To assure your safety, it is recommended to talk to your doctor about it.

Takeaway

We are so blessed to have this medicine right now, which we can rely on if we are infected. Therefore we must give importance to this medicine by making sure to take it correctly depending on your doctor’s prescription.

However, despite its effectivity for a long time now many doctors are already worried because of its resistance to the bacteria. But the study of improving its efficiency never stops. Let us not wait for the day that we will suffer from bacterial infection. Avoidance is the best cure. So keep yourself clean and eat clean and green food to strengthen your body. Maintain a robust immune system, and then there will be less chance for you to be infected.