4.3.1.8 Antibiotics and painkillers

What are antibiotics?

Medicines that kill bacterial pathogens inside the body without damaging body cells

Why can’t antibiotics kill viruses?

Viruses use body cells to reproduce, meaning that any drugs that target them would affect body tissue too

What is the greatest concern with the use of antibiotics?

Bacteria are beginning to become resistant to antibiotics

How are bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics?

Mutations can occur during reproduction resulting in certain bacteria no longer being killed by antibiotics so when these bacteria are exposed to antibiotics, only the non resistant ones die and the resistant bacteria survive and reproduce meaning the population of resistant bacteria increase and antibiotics that were previously effective no longer work

How can the development of resistant strains be prevented?

Stop overusing antibiotics as it unnecessarily exposes bacteria, finishing courses of antibiotics to kill all of the bacteria