How do antibiotics work against bacterial infections?

Antibiotics work by either killing bacteria or inhibiting their growth and reproduction.

Antibiotics are powerful medicines that fight bacterial infections. They do this by targeting specific processes or structures within bacterial cells, which are either absent or significantly different in human cells. This selective targeting allows antibiotics to kill bacteria or inhibit their growth without causing significant harm to the patient's own cells.

There are several ways in which antibiotics achieve this. Some antibiotics, known as bactericidal antibiotics, kill bacteria directly. They do this by disrupting the formation of the bacterial cell wall, which is crucial for the bacteria's survival. The cell wall provides structural integrity to the bacteria, and without it, the bacteria can burst and die. Penicillin is a classic example of a bactericidal antibiotic that works in this way.

Other antibiotics, known as bacteriostatic antibiotics, inhibit the growth and reproduction of bacteria. They do this by interfering with the bacteria's ability to synthesise proteins, replicate their DNA, or carry out other essential processes. Tetracyclines, for instance, prevent bacteria from making proteins by binding to their ribosomes, the cellular machinery that assembles proteins.

It's important to note that antibiotics are only effective against bacterial infections, not viral infections. This is because viruses have a different structure and replicate in a different way than bacteria. They essentially hijack the host's own cells and use them to reproduce, which makes them much harder to target with drugs. Therefore, antibiotics are not effective against illnesses like the common cold or flu, which are caused by viruses.

In conclusion, antibiotics are a crucial tool in the fight against bacterial infections. By selectively targeting bacterial processes or structures, they can kill bacteria or inhibit their growth, helping to clear infections and prevent their spread. However, the misuse and overuse of antibiotics can lead to antibiotic resistance, which is a major global health concern.