Antibacterial Drugs

What is amoxicillin? Amoxicillin is a penicillin antibiotic that fights bacteria. Amoxicillin is used to treat many different types of infection caused by bacteria, such as tonsillitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, gonorrhea, and infections of the ear, nose, throat, skin, or urinary tract. Amoxicillin is also sometimes used together with another antibiotic called clarithromycin (Biaxin) to treat stomach ulcers caused by Helicobacter pylori infection. This combination is sometimes used with a stomach acid reducer called lansoprazole (Prevacid). Do not use this medication if you are allergic to amoxicillin or to any other penicillin antibiotic, such as ampicillin (Omnipen, Principen), dicloxacillin (Dycill, Dynapen), oxacillin (Bactocill), penicillin (Beepen-VK, Ledercillin VK, Pen-V, Pen-Vee K, Pfizerpen, V-Cillin K, Veetids), and others. Before using amoxicillin, tell your doctor if you are allergic to cephalosporins such as Omnicef, Cefzil, Ceftin, Keflex, and others. A...

What is nitrofurantoin? Nitrofurantoin is an antibiotic that fights bacteria in the body. Nitrofurantoin is used to treat urinary tract infections. Before taking this medicine You should not take nitrofurantoin if you are allergic to it, or if you have: severe kidney disease; a history of jaundice or liver problems caused by taking nitrofurantoin; if you are urinating less than usual or not at all; or if you are in the last 2 to 4 weeks of pregnancy. Do not take nitrofurantoin if you are in the last 2 to 4 weeks of pregnancy. To make sure nitrofurantoin is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have: kidney disease; anemia; diabetes; an electrolyte imbalance or vitamin B deficiency; glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency; or any type of debilitating disease. Usual Adult Dose for Cystitis Regular release: 50 to 100 mg orally 4 times a day for 1 week or for at least 3 days after urine sterility is obtained Dual release: 1...

What is metronidazole? Metronidazole is an antibiotic. It fights bacteria in your body. Metronidazole is used to treat bacterial infections of the vagina, stomach, skin, joints, and respiratory tract. This medication will not treat a vaginal yeast infection. Take metronidazole for the full prescribed length of time. Your symptoms may improve before the infection is completely cleared.  Skipping doses may also increase your risk of further infection that is resistant to antibiotics. Metronidazole will not treat a viral infection such as the common cold or flu.     Do not drink alcohol while you are taking metronidazole and for at least 3 days after you stop taking it. You may have unpleasant side effects such as fast heartbeats, warmth or redness under your skin, tingly feeling, nausea, and vomiting. How should I take metronidazole? Take metronidazole exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Do not take in larger or smaller amounts or for longer than recomme...

   Sulfonamides are a group of man-made (synthetic) medicines that contain the sulfonamide chemical group. They are also called sulfa drugs (sometimes spelled as  sulpha drugs  or  sulphonamides ).  Sulfanilamide was the first sulfonamide developed in 1906 , although it was not used as an antimicrobial until the late 1930s . Several thousand other substances have since been developed from sulfanilamide. Sulfonamide antimicrobials work by interfering with the synthesis of folic acid in bacteria, which is essential for nucleic acid formation and ultimately DNA and RNA.  People obtain folic acid from their diet but bacteria need to synthesize it. When used alone, sulfonamides antibiotics are bacteriostatic (stop bacteria from reproducing but don't necessarily kill them); however, in combination with trimethoprim (co-trimoxazole), which acts at a different enzyme in the pathway of folic acid synthesis, sulfonamides tend to be bactericidal (kill ...

What are Aminoglycosides? Aminoglycosides are a class of antibiotics used mainly in the treatment of aerobic gram-negative bacilli infections, although they are also effective against other bacteria including Staphylococci and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. They are often used in combination with other antibiotics. Aminoglycosides are thought to work by inhibiting protein synthesis inside bacteria . Kill rates of bacteria are increased when higher concentrations of aminoglycosides are present; however, the margin between a safe and a toxic dose is narrow and monitoring is often needed, although once daily dosing increases the safety window. Impairment of kidney function and hearing loss are the most common side effects of aminoglycosides. Aminoglycosides tend to be used when other less toxic antibiotics are contraindicated or ineffective. Aminoglycosides are not well absorbed when given by mouth , so need to be given by injection by healthcare personnel. What are aminoglycos...

What is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic? (levofloxacin) 8. ... Levaquin (levofloxacin) is a  quinolone antibiotic  similar to ciprofloxacin (Cipro), used to treat bacterial infections. Levofloxacin is considered a first-line treatment for urinary tract infections and is also used for sinusitis, bronchitis and pneumonia. Q uinolone Antibiotic   A  quinolone antibiotic  is any member of a large group of broad-spectrum bactericides that share a bicyclic core structure related to the compound 4-quinolone. [1]  They are used in human and veterinary medicine to treat bacterial infections, as well as in animal husbandry. Nearly all quinolone antibiotics in modern use are  fluoroquinolones , which contain a fluorine atom in their chemical structure and are effective against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. One example is ciprofloxacin (Cipro), one of the most widely used a...

Tetracyclines were discovered in the 1940s and exhibited activity against a wide range of microorganisms including gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, chlamydiae, mycoplasmas, rickettsiae, and protozoan parasites. They are inexpensive antibiotics, which have been used extensively in the prophlylaxis and therapy of human and animal infections and also at subtherapeutic levels in animal feed as growth promoters. The first tetracycline-resistant bacterium, Shigella dysenteriae, was isolated in 1953. Tetracycline resistance now occurs in an increasing number of pathogenic, opportunistic, and commensal bacteria. The presence of tetracycline-resistant pathogens limits the use of these agents in treatment of disease. Tetracycline resistance is often due to the acquisition of new genes, which code for energy-dependent efflux of tetracyclines or for a protein that protects bacterial ribosomes from the action of tetracyclines. Many of these genes are associated with mobile plasmids or t...