antibiotics

last SG · 2007-01-13T21:14:40+00:00

new generation antibiotics but already you have linezoid resistant enterococi .

coldzero SG

How long does it takes for an obivous effectiveness of the antibiotics to be seen? I have been taking it for a week for my acne, and not much improvement was seen.

SingaporeMacross SG

ooh, you are an epidemiologist then?

fymk SG

yup - working in that capacity now but focusing more on data/statistical analysis and not on outbreak investigations. Hard to get this job - too specialised and preference is usually given to doctors . So I am doing more of statistical jobs since docs have the advantage of the clinical side of things.

the Bear SG

you ought to be shot..

you and those idiots like you are the cause of those drug-resistant bacteria Mad

Darkness_hacker99 SG

To prevent Secondary infection.

coldzero SG

Anybody answer my question? Embarassed

rane SG

Are all antibiotics prescribled by doctors the same? As in those given for fever purposes the same as those given to cure acne?

Can it be bought from the pharmacy? Or just from the clinic? Can it be bought without consulation from the doctor?

Does it have any side-effects after taking for some time?

Thanks for your time in answering. =)

Hi, depends on individual, some react fastto the antibiotic whereas some don't, some don't hv any effect at all. Antibiotic can be prescribed by doctors only, u can't buy them off the shelf. You need prescription from drs to get antibiotic from the counters in the pharmacies. It has side effects. Side effects depends on the different types of antibiotic. Sometimes can affect stomach or cause dry mouth and so on. Consuming antibiotic will also kill the good bacteria in our bodies. So it is recommended to take L acidophilus supplement to replenish the good bacteria after you finished taking antibiotic.

the Bear SG

acne is a different thing altogether...

it can be brought about by infections, or hormonal changes, or allergies...

antibiotics may take the infection out of the equation but the hormonal changes are still there...

coldzero SG

Ohh.. Okay. Thanks. Smile

SingaporeMacross SG

That's what my lecturer told me.

"Want to be a an epidemiologist? Forget it."

Ack, my biostatistics is very bad.

fymk SG

Why is that? What are you studying now?

My stats was poor in polytechnic then it turned worse when I chose the biostats stream for my masters without meeting the prerequisites ( I did not have A level maths or O level Pure Maths background) . Then after a long hard route of practicing and practicing - I scored High Distinction for Biostats . It is just a matter of practice and how to apply it.

Epidemiology is easy in certain areas. In infectious epi, you just need to know how to run outbreak investigations and case control studies (power calculation, sampling and hypothesis) . In cancer epi, they go for prospective or retrospective cohort studies. In genetic epi , that is cohort or case control but you must be damn solid in genetics studies. In clinical epi , randomised control trials and cohort studies are the primer .

SingaporeMacross SG

Final semester in Molecular Biotechnology at NYP.

What did u study back then?

Heh, epidemiology is a examinable topic for one of my modules. Doing my tutorial for tomorrow. Bleah.

Darkness_hacker99 SG

What is this? Laughing

the Bear SG

probably Additional Math...

btw, i dunno much about biology but statistics, here's something i learnt.. unless you are gifted with a mathematical mind, never ever apply intuition in it.. most statistics are counter-intuitive... it is how statistics is used by bookies to make a killing from the punters...

good luck macross Smile

ghimpheng SG

how does the body know if u had completed the whole course =/

ditzy did u call me Rolling Eyes

fymk SG

I did nursing.

fymk SG

The bacteria in your body will be killed by a constant specified antibiotic dose for a specified period of time (a few days). And one antibiotic can only be active for a certain period of time (a few hours). To keep the effective levels up in your body enough to kill the bacteria , you need to eat your antibiotics for that said period of time (a few days) .

If you do not eat it regularly or complete it , the bacteria survives and will learn to cope with the antibiotic by generating resistant genes to it - evolution of the fittest to survive . That is one of the many ways on how antibiotic resistance occur.

ghimpheng SG

o well i didn't finish mine but i am still quite healthy up till now though

what if i completed half of my antibiotic and the virus is already been exterminated do i still need to finish the whole course

fymk SG

Antibiotics are not meant for a virus . It is meant to kill bacteria. Yes you do need to complete it so that at least the remnants of the bacteria population is almost controlled to a bare minimum. The reason why you fill better is that your body is taking it easy after the immune system fights the infection. You have symptoms when the body reacts to an infection. Feeling better does not mean that the infection is gone totally.

IF that is not enough - some bacteria are known to share antibiotic resistant genes like vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) which can go around sharing the gene aka plasmid with a straphylococcus aureus bacteria ...that is why hospitals isolate people infected or carrying VRE.

Now when your body is healthy , you will be able to cope with most infections. As you grow older , you will find out that infections can still kill you especially antibiotic resistant ones. Some people becomes carriers ( meaning they don't exhibit symptoms) and some will become sick. Matter of lucky draw and the state of your immune system and the state of the bacteria infecting you.

People still do die of antibiotic resistant bacterial infections. Young and old. You willl only know how antibiotic resistant bacteria affect you when you are very ill. You will find that doctors will have to prescribe stronger antibiotics with more side effects if you become seriously ill and the bacteria that is causing the infection does not respond to antibiotics.

I remember the strongest antibiotics was vancomycin and gentamycin - they are given through the veins . That meant having to do levels every 2-3 days just to make sure that it will not destroy the person's kidney while in the process of killing the bacteria. Linezoid is now the strongest for certain infections but it comes with even worse side effects. I think they monitor daily for liver and renal failure for those on linezoid infusions. If all fails, you have to depend on your body. Most elderly do not survive such bad infections. They die.

So don't underestimate the humble bacteria who can wreck havoc on you.

SingaporeMacross SG

Haha, we studied Linezolid today.

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