When we are sick and have an intruder micro-organism in us, do the medicines we take, tackle the intruder all on its own or are they designed to help the body do a more efficient job in tackling this intruder?
In: Biology
Usually they go after whatever is making you sick.
Some examples:
-Antibiotics target and destroy bacteria making you sick (“innocent” ones too)
-Antiretrovirals interfere with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS
-Chemotherapy destroys cancer cells (and innocent cells as well again)
However, there are also some drugs designed to help you fight the disease yourself:
-Herbal supplements to boost the immune system
-Many vaccines work by helping your own immune cells prepare for invaders
Different medications do different things:
For example, some kinds of antibiotics actually kill bacteria by making their cell walls leak and ooze out all their internal juices until they die; while other kinds antibiotics prevent bacteria from replicating giving your body’s immune system’s white blood cells time to gobble them all up.
Some medications are only to make you feel more comfortable, like medications that reduce headaches or hay fever or nausea; they don’t cure anything but they decrease the suffering of being sick. Sometimes medications are just there to keep you alive long enough for your body to tackle an infection.
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