Why is it important not to misuse or overuse antibiotics?

Question

abb0t · Answer

To avoid antibiotic resistance.

anonymous · Answer

THNX

australopithecus · Answer

@abb0t I don't really like your answer, it isn't really a sufficient answer imo. This is an very important topic that deserves a thorough answer!

The reason why it is not a good idea to overuse antibiotics is because they are our defense against pathogenic bacteria, and by not using them as described or overusing them we are rendering our drugs to fight them off useless.


The way antibiotics work when you take them is that they kill off the majority of the pathogen, your body has to kill of the small portion of the population that are resistant to the drugs. If you missuse the antibiotic by going off of them early, your body is still stuck with fighting non-resistant bacteria and the resistant bacteria can multiply. This renders the drug you were previously on ineffective to fight the bacteria. Essentially you become a carrier of more dangerous pathogen, which you could potentially spread to someone else. 

Overuse also can lead to the antibiotics entering our water supply, this will have a similar affect selecting for resistant bacteria.

Essentially we will lose our ability to use drugs to fight off bacteria infections, which will result in more deaths. It could also result in people having to take a combination of drugs or even more dangerous drugs just to treat an infection.

abb0t · Answer

Everything that you said in that tediously lengthy answer, that I am sure they did not read, is basically saying what i covered in four words - resistance. This is high school biology, not college microbiology. There is no need to include more information than is covered in their textbook and confuse them.
I'm sure if they wanted a much more thorough understanding, they would have asked and I could have kindly included more information. Just sayin'.

australopithecus · Answer

Fair enough, you are probably right. Have a medal.