5 undesirable consequences when using antibiotics

Antibiotics are considered one of the most important inventions of modern medicine, but the harmful effects of overusing antibiotics today are making people lose many important weapons in the treatment of diseases. infectious diseases caused by bacteria.

The harmful effects of antibiotic abuse not only increase the rate of antibiotic resistance, making it difficult to treat, but also cause many other effects. Let's learn about 5 unwanted consequences of antibiotic abuse.

In the normal intestinal tract, there is always a population of different species of bacteria that maintains a balance, helps in the digestive process, and also inhibits and neutralizes the effects of bacteria. pathogenic bacteria in the gut.
The harmful effects of antibiotic abuse when using one or more strong antibiotics with high doses and for a long time will lead to the above-mentioned bacterial species including beneficial bacteria (beneficial bacteria) being destroyed by antibiotics. destroy. Then, the consequence of overusing antibiotics is to disrupt the balance, causing dysbacteriosis, thereby promoting the growth of bacteria that have the potential to cause intestinal diseases, mainly diarrhea. or enteritis.
Young children are particularly sensitive to the harmful effects of antibiotic abuse on the intestinal microbiota.
SEE ALSO: Antibiogram - solutions to reduce antibiotic resistance

In addition to beneficial bacteria, the inside of the intestine contains billions of different microorganisms. Strong antibiotics can be very helpful in treating serious infections, but they can eliminate and reduce the susceptibility of many different types of gut micro-organisms. One of the most typical consequences of overuse of antibiotics is that a C.diff infection is very difficult to treat.

Bacteria have the ability to block the effects of antibiotics thanks to horizontal gene transfer. The special thing is that bacteria do not need to reproduce to be able to pass on antibiotic resistance genes to the next generation, but they can pass this gene on to their "comrades" through the secretion of resistance genes across the membrane to transmit genes. resistance to other bacteria. This is a consequence when overuse of antibiotics increases the risk of bacteria becoming more and more resistant to antibiotics.

Consequences of antibiotic abuse easily make bacteria resistant to the effects of antibiotics, thereby reducing the therapeutic effect of drugs, this is a harmful, extensive and long-term consequence for the whole society. . Accordingly, the influence of antibiotic abuse on antibiotic resistance in bacteria occurs mainly due to one of the following reasons:
Formation of resistance genes in chromosomes Reception of a resistance plasmid from other bacteria to bacteria Bacteria in some special physiological state such as dormant bacteria, dormant, do not multiply unaffected by the action of drugs such as tuberculosis. When a bacterial strain is resistant to antibiotics, this strain can transmit resistance to other bacteria by various mechanisms including:
Transformation: resistance genes are transferred to the environment , then from the environment re-enters the bacterial cell that is sensitive to antibiotics, making the bacteria resistant to antibiotics. Transduction: through viruses, resistance genes can be transmitted directly from one bacterium to another of the same species or between species. Conjugation: This is the phenomenon when two bacteria conjugate, part of the genetic material is transferred from the donor to the recipient by direct contact between the two cells. Therefore, a harmful effect Moreover, when overusing antibiotics is to spread drug resistance from bacteria to other bacteria, causing the phenomenon of multi-antibiotic resistant bacteria.
MORE: How to limit antibiotic resistance?

If antibiotic resistance is becoming more and more common, then the harmful effects of other abuse mean that the classic and popular antibiotics will no longer be used to treat the disease in time and must be used. other, more expensive antibiotics to treat infections and other illnesses caused by bacteria.
Even if antibiotics are still effective, patients carrying antibiotic-resistant bacteria will have to be treated for a longer time, requiring special care, beds, and isolation rooms. .. Besides, the longer hospital stay, longer recovery will lead to the risk of hospital overload, the possibility of contracting diseases such as community-acquired pneumonia or hospital-acquired pneumonia is also higher.
Therefore, the consequences of overuse of antibiotics indirectly affect both health and economy, this is a worrying burden for each patient, family and health care system.
Currently, the use of antibiotics, indiscriminate use of antibiotics has increased the risk of side effects and becoming antibiotic resistance. Therefore, patients should choose reputable medical facilities with good expertise to treat and guide the most effective use of antibiotics.
Vinmec International General Hospital is the address for examination, treatment and prevention of diseases. When performing the examination process at Vinmec, customers will be welcomed and used the modern facilities and machinery system along with perfect medical services under the guidance and advice of the doctors. Good doctors, well-trained both at home and abroad.
In case it is necessary to use antibiotics to treat diseases, doctors at Vinmec will provide a treatment regimen, and advise and guide patients to use drugs effectively, to avoid abuse. Indiscriminate use of antibiotics causes undesirable side effects such as antibiotic resistance.

Reference source: healthline.com