How does finishing the prescription ensure that all the bacteria is killed and that there are no surviving or remaining bacteria? Have always been told that finishing the prescription does this but never how
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You have bunnies in your yard, eating your veggies! There are a lot of them! You start trapping and shipping bunnies off to the other side of the country. It’s working! Your veggies get eaten less and less! Eventually you’ve captured most of the bunnies, and your garden is fine, so you stop trapping.
But there are a few bunnies left, and they have more bunny babies, who also have more bunny babies. In a very short time, your entire garden is being eaten again!
So next time, you trap the bunnies, but KEEP ON TRAPPING even when your garden is *mostly* OK. You trap, and trap, until you are sure EVERY bunny in the area is gone. Now your garden is ok, and next week, next month, hopefully even next year, your garden is still safe from bunnies.
That’s antibiotics. If you stop when you feel better (as in stopping catching bunnies when your garden seems to not be eaten up much), the last bit of bacteria (bunnies) will reproduce, and be just as big a problem as they were in the first place in a short time. But if you keep on taking your antibiotics (trapping bunnies) you can get rid of every last one, and they won’t reproduce and return.
First, understand that using antibiotics only adds to our natural ability to fight bacteria.
Many antibiotics don’t kill bacteria.
These antibiotics only stop some important bacterial process, like cell wall production, which bacteria need to multiply.
The treated bacteria just sits there, not reproducing, but not dying either.
If the antibiotic is stopped, the bacteria start reproducing again.
If the antibiotic is NOT stopped, our bodies have more time and more ways to “wear out” or “eat” the bacteria.
Again, antibiotics are our partners in fighting bacteria; they are not totally effective alone.
Finishing a prescription of antibiotics ensures that all bacteria are killed or reduced to a level that your immune system can handle, preventing a potential resurgence of the infection.
Here’s how it works:
Bacterial Population Reduction: When you take an antibiotic, it starts to kill bacteria. The most susceptible bacteria die first, reducing the overall population. However, some bacteria may be more resistant to the antibiotic and survive longer.
Prevent Resistance Development: Bacteria are capable of evolving and developing resistance to antibiotics, especially if they are exposed to sub-lethal doses over a prolonged period. By taking the full course of antibiotics, you ensure that the bacteria are exposed to levels of the drug sufficient to kill them, rather than just weaken them. If you stop taking the antibiotic early, the remaining bacteria could develop resistance to the drug, making it ineffective.
Immune System Support: The full course of antibiotics reduces the bacterial population to a level that your immune system can manage. If you stop taking the drug early, the remaining bacteria could multiply quickly and overwhelm your immune system.
Preventing Relapse: By killing all the bacteria causing the infection, you reduce the risk of the infection returning. A relapse could be more difficult to treat, especially if the bacteria developed resistance to the antibiotics used in the initial treatment.
Remember, misuse of antibiotics is a significant factor in the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Always take antibiotics exactly as prescribed by your healthcare provider. Never save them for later use or share them with others.
It just takes 1 single lone bacteria cell to kickstart the whole infection. Finish that course! The course is set to work before the end, that last part is to make sure to get between the creases, so to speak.
Actually this advice is being turned on it’s head of late. Instead of prescribing 10-14 days of antibiotics prescribers are being asked to consider 3-5 days in many cases.
You don’t need to kill every last bacterium, you can’t anyway, and just provoke resistance with long courses and more disruption to your good bacteria.
Instead a 3-5 day course in most cases will kill 95-99% of the bacteria that are harming you and your immune system can deal with the rest naturally.
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