We are now approaching the time of year when people normally start to succumb to illnesses. It might not happen straight away, but winter is approaching.

Learn more by reading this article… No medicine is more frequently prescribed these days than antibiotics. The purpose for being prescribed one is for the treatment of an infection. The antibiotic acts against the bacteria that is causing your infection by damaging or killing it.

Scientists were not expecting to find the first antibiotic when they found it growing in mold.

Keep in mind that antibiotics can only act against bacterial infections and have no effect on viral infections.

There are many classes of antibiotics and I’ll run through some of them now. Keep in mind this list is not exhaustive. Among the antibiotics classes are penicillins, which would include amoxicillin. Cephalosporins, like cephlexen and also macrolides like eyrthromycin, are other types.

Antibiotics generally have two names, one of which comes from the brand name of the company who manufactures it. The other name is the generic name and derives from its class and the chemicals in the drug.

Not every antibiotic is effective against every illness. Sometimes you may be prescribed an antibiotic that was not intended to treat your condition. This antibiotic won’t do anything for you. You need a prescription specific to your particular illness.

If you begin to improve after 3 days, but you have been prescribed a course of antibiotics for 10 days, keep using ALL of the antibiotic so you can be certain that you recover from infection properly.

You may become resistant if you use antibiotics too often, and then if you later develop a serious infection, antibiotics will not be effective.

What happens if you are allergic to an antibiotic, such as penicillin – When you next require an antibiotic, your doctor will be careful not to give you any antibiotics in that class.

I hope that everybody who reads this can go through fall and winter without needing antibiotics. Winter is close, so here are some facts just in case you become ill.