A patient comes in with the chief complaint of a toothache. After a short examination including an X-ray film, tapping on the tooth, and checking the gums the dentist determines that tooth decay is deep enough inside the tooth to infect the pulp or the root canal. The patient needs root canal treatment. Hearing “infection,” ...
Every child experiences a runny nose from time to time. It is part of the common cold and it’s part of being a child in classrooms filled with germs. Sometimes it is hard to determine when to let it run its course, when to see the doctor and when to give your child an antibiotic. ...
Irritable Bowel Syndrome is known as IBS and it is not a laughing matter. When a patient is suffering from IBS he/she is having functioning problems with the part of their digestive tract that is responsible for stool production. The symptoms that one may have an impeded stool can be any of the following or ...
There are many different classes of antibiotics, each exerting a different type of inhibitory effect that specifically impacts bacteria. Bacterial cells are prokaryotic; primitive cells that differ significantly from humans’ eukaryotic cells. Antibiotic macrolides work by inhibiting the bacterial cell’s protein synthesis. Antibiotic Class Article Series Each article in this series covers a specific class ...
Nearly every individual in the United States has taken an antibiotic by the time they reach their teen years, and this is a rather conservative statement. Antibiotics are some of the most prescribed drugs to either fight infection, or prevent one. And everyone’s who has had a bottle of prescription antibiotics can attest to the ...
Flu season hit our town hard and the schools even harder. And the kids brought it home with them. Everyone in our house was ill, including our 2 month old (who had RSV but that’s another story). And the flu set off our children’s asthma. My husband and I started their normal course of medications, ...
An antibiotic is a substance or compound that kills or inhibits the growth of bacteria. Antibiotics can be broadly classified as either bactericidal or bacteriostatic. Bactericidals kill bacteria directly where bacteriostatics prevent cell division. Antibiotics which target the bacterial cell wall (penicillins, cephalosporins), or cell membrane (polymixins), or interfere with essential bacterial enzymes (quinolones, fluroquinolone) ...
Antibiotic resistance has become an increasingly common problem with many different illnesses, bacterias, and of course germs. Preventing antibiotic resistance is one of the best ways that you can assure you will not be faced with an illness that is not curable with antibiotics. Illnesses and bacteria that was once able to be wiped away ...
There’s no doubt that there are medical conditions where antibiotics are necessary. A life threatening bacterial infection needs immediate antibiotic treatment. Unfortunately, antibiotics are often over prescribed in this country which has contributed to the ever growing problem of antibiotic resistance. Not only does the misuse of antibiotics contribute to the problem of antibiotic resistance, ...
My 11 month old baby had a runny nose one day, and the next day he had a fever. Forty-eight hours later, he still had a fever. The fever activated an outbreak of cold sores which was quickly spread by teething drool all over his chest and chin. A day later his gums began to ...
