Overcome Bacterial Infection with Antibiotics, But Don't Overdo it.

Bacteria are single-celled microorganisms, very small in size, and cannot be seen with the naked eye. Although small, bacteria are very strong and can live in extreme conditions. Bacteria can live anywhere, both inside the human body and outside the human body. Therefore, bacterial infections are very susceptible to occur in humans. Some types of bacteria have a tail called a flagella, which functions as a means of movement. Some other bacteria have adhesives such as hair which makes it able to stick to certain objects or substances, both hard surfaces or on human cells. More than 99 percent of the types of bacteria do not harm the body. On the contrary, precisely most bacteria "help" humans, both in the process of digesting food, fighting off bad bacteria that cause disease, and helping the absorption of nutrients needed by the human body. This type of good bacteria in living conditions in the human body, but does not cause disease. However, there are also types of bacteria that can harm the body and cause bacterial infections. The types that endanger the body are less than 1 percent.

How to fight bacterial infections?

Some bacteria that can cause disease usually appear when bacteria infect the body. This condition is called a bacterial infection. Some examples of bacteria that can cause infectious diseases are of the types of E. coli, Streptococcus, and Staphylococcus. When infecting the body, bacteria multiply rapidly in the body. Not a few of these bacteria that release chemicals that are toxic. These chemicals are then at risk of damaging the tissue so that makes a person attacked by disease. Although these bacteria can infect the body, in fact every human being already has a natural immune system to anticipate and fight infection. Antibiotics themselves are recommended only to be used to treat serious bacterial infections, such as in cases of severe pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis. In conditions of infection that are more common, such as viral infections and mild bacterial infections, antibiotic use is not really necessary. This is because some of these infectious diseases can improve on their own without antibiotics, provided the person with the mild infection has a good immune system. The use of antibiotics that are not appropriate and excessive to kill bacteria will actually be detrimental, because it will only make the bacteria able to adapt to the effects of antibiotics, so that the bacteria become resistant or do not work destroyed with these antibiotics.

What Happens when Bacteria Are Resistant to Antibiotics?

If the bacteria are resistant to antibiotics, then below are the potential dangers that can be caused:

• Increase the risk of bacterial infection complications

Bacterial infection is not something that can be underestimated, if the use of antibiotics to treat it carelessly and cause resistance, it could lead to serious complications, one of which is death. When bacteria that are resistant or resistant to infect humans, eradication efforts cannot use standard antibiotics anymore. Disease caused becomes difficult to remove from the body. If the disease continues to inhabit the body and cannot be cured, it can lead to the death of the patient. According to several studies, if left unchecked, mortality rates related to antibiotic resistance will increase from 700 thousand million in 2013 to 10 million by 2050 worldwide.

• The cost of treatment is increasingly expensive

Medical costs can also increase if the use of antibiotics to deal with bacterial infections carelessly and excessively. When resistant bacteria cannot be eliminated by regular treatment, newer antibiotic drugs are needed. The newest type of antibiotic drug to treat resistant bacteria is clearly more expensive than ordinary antibiotic drugs. As a result, the cost of treatment in health facilities will become increasingly expensive.

• Inhibiting the control of infectious diseases

Because infectious diseases caused by bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics are more difficult to eliminate, then the risk of disease transmission in the community will be more likely to occur.

• Inhibiting the process of medical action on the community

Bacteria that are resistant to antibiotic treatment can also threaten the results of medical treatment. Some medical procedures, such as organ transplants, chemotherapy, and major operations on the human body, are procedures that can cause bacterial infections. Without effective antibiotics to fight the bacteria that cause infection, the prevention and treatment of infections in the procedure will be hampered.

Given that bacterial resistance can cause greater problems later on, from now on it is not recommended to rush to take antibiotics when the body feels symptoms of non-specific infections, such as coughs, colds, and fever. If necessary, the use of antibiotic drugs must be in accordance with the doctor's prescription, after the doctor confirms that your condition does require antibiotic treatment.