ABSTRACT:
Antibiotics are powerful medicines that treat certain infections and, when used correctly, can save lives. They either prevent the growth of bacteria or destroy them. Normally, the immune system can kill bacteria before they can multiply and cause symptoms. White blood cells (WBC) attack harmful bacteria. Even when symptoms appear, the immune system is usually able to manage and fight off the infection. However, there are times when the number of harmful bacteria is too large for the immune system to eliminate them all. Antibiotics can help in this scenario. The first antibiotic was penicillin. Penicillin-based antibiotics such as ampicillin, amoxicillin, and penicillin G are still available and have been used for many years to treat a variety of infections. There are several types of modern antibiotics that are usually available only by prescription in the United States. Topical antibiotics are available in over-the-counter (OTC) creams and ointments. Modern medicine has changed as a result of antibiotics. They facilitate critical therapies and procedures and are crucial for the treatment of infectious disorders. Nevertheless, despite their popularity, their continued usage in the twenty-first century is threatened by two unrelated problems. The first is that over time, the bacteria that these medications are meant to kill develop a tolerance to them. The second is that traditional mechanisms of payment are no longer cost-effective for discovering and developing antibiotics. As a result, there are fewer businesses and research facilities focused on producing new antibiotics, creating a pipeline that is anemic and endangers our ability to control diseases.