Our War Against Germs

Our War Against Germs

When a child experiences a pain in throat, ear, or nose, the first expected diagnosis is a bacterial infection and antibiotics will be used. Children’s immune systems have not developed enough to fight the various kinds of bacteria, so children have more chance of getting a bacterial infection than adults, and thus they use more antibiotics. Prescribing antibiotics for children helps speed up the treatment, but its misuse might give the bacteria a resistance for that antibiotic.

When the immune system becomes unable to defend the body against bacterial attack, antibiotics can support and cure the body from infection. They can kill the bacterial cells and stop its reproduction by inhibiting DNA replication and protein production, and preventing cell wall from turning over1. By helping the immune system’s antibodies, antibiotics speed the treatment time and the body is cured faster. Antibiotics could be used only if the infection is taking a long time and becoming worse, so a patient doesn’t miss many days of work or school.

On the other hand, the misuse of antibiotics could cause side effects. Taking antibiotics at an early stage of the infection may not be necessary. If the body was given more time, the immune system might be able to cure the infection and no antibiotics would be needed. This way the immune system becomes stronger against bacterial attack. Antibiotics overuse could cause the bacteria to gain a resistance to antibiotics. When antibiotics were discovered during World War II, people thought about it as the weapon for any infection and overused it; they even made a lipstick for hygienic kissing2. Later, bacteria gained a resistance and the old antibiotics were not able to defeat the bacterial cells2. During childhood people get tonsillitis or any infection in the upper respiratory track more than when they become adults. Even though in some cases antibiotics are not necessary, parents give their children antibiotics every time they have tonsillitis or any bacterial infection, so they don’t miss many school days, and parents enjoy their time without children’s complaining.