do anti-biotics become less effective if you have taken them before?

Question

do you get immune to them?

Answer 1

What happens is that bacteria, which the antibiotics attack, become immune to the antibiotics. Over-prescribing anti-biotics is bad because it causes bacteria to develop resistance. This is why in the past very small quantities of penicillin-type drugs were necessary to treat a bacterial infection, whereas the dosages are now 100s of times greater. This is also why scientists are always struggling to keep up with bacteria which obtain resistance quickly.

The best strategy is to use antibiotics only when you are sure you need them. If you have a viral illness such as the flu, antibiotics are useless. Also, if you take way too many antibiotics, you risk fungal infections. The reason is because fungi and bacteria are always in competition, and when you eliminate one, the other starts to grow out of hand. Some people have had urinary tract infections from fungi because they took too many antibiotics. Not a pretty sight.

Just take antibiotics when you have a bacterial infection. If you don't know the origin of your infection (if it is bacterial or viral), your doctor may initially prescribe antibiotics until he can confirm the origin of the infection in lab work.

Answer 2

No. Anti-biotics are designed to target bacteria, which they should do so effectively regardless of how often you use them. You cannot become immune to them because they do not directly affect your immune system.

However, the overuse of anti-biotics by people in general means that new strains of bacteria develop that are immune to the anti-biotics (it's the bacteria that become immune, not us). This means that the more often we use anti-biotics as individuals the less effective they become for everybody. This is why health professionals try to encourage people to only use anti-biotics under prescription. Using anti-biotics for a general cold will not help (your body just doesn't need them) and will only make the anti-biotics less effective for everyone else.

Answer 3

Yes but only if you did not kill off the whole of the last infection.
But it is the bacteria that become immune not your body.

The bugs that survived even if only a few will be the ones that can tolerate that antibiotic the best. They will multiple and all their offspring will also be able to tolerate that antibiotic as well - hence a super bug is created that can no longer be treated with that antibiotic.

You could then pass on those superbugs to others.

Always finish a course of antibiotics - never ever use them unless absolutely necessary.

When antibiotics were first used they really were miracle cures - they would knock out most bacterial infections overnight - those same old antibiotics today are fairly useless due to overuse.

Answer 4

No, antibiotics do not become less effective for an individual person when taken before. This is mistaken with the concept of evolution. The few bacteria that have a mutation that allows them to become resistant to that antibiotic are the only ones that will survive, and therefore they will reproduce, their offspring will be born with the trait allowing them to be resistant to the gene. This form of the bacteria will retake the population. For example, if an antibiotic was able to kill off 99.9% of bacteria (though no antibiotic is really this effective), that .1% who were resistant to that antibiotic would survive, reproduce, and retake the population. That is also why doctors do not perscribe as many antibotics to patients anymore. If they prescribe them for every little disease, the antibotics will become ineffective for everyone.
I hope I was able to help you!

Answer 5

Antibiotic resistance can really only become an issue if someone overuses and abuses the antibiotics. So, if taken within the guidelines of a prescription, there should be no problem.

Really, it is not the person who becomes immune to the antibiotics, but the organisms the antibiotics are supposed to kill.

Answer 6

Yes...the "make you sick" microorganisms or "bugs" get immune to repeated doses of anti-biotics because the survivors have mutated and are resistant to the medication. Some people drink hot liquids and get under 4-5 blankets to "sweat out " infections like head colds. This simulated "fever" can kill off most "bad bugs"...just cool off very slowly///not for very old or babies.

Answer 7

It appears that your body gets used to them and they become less effective--in essense, your body becomes 'resistant' to them. In addition, as the use of antibiotics grow, disease strains become resistant to them, thus the antibiotics no longer affects the disease (some call this a superinfection). Think of law of natural selection: if one strain of a disease can be killed by the antibiotic, it will die out or adapt. Conversely, if a strain of a disease is immune to the antibiotic, it will continue to grow.

Answer 8

No, They don't become less effective if taken as per doctor's prescription but they sure become less effective if given to many people and uses in excess as the germs causing the disease become more tolerant to the antibiotics.

Answer 9

You don't get immune to them. The bacteria do. They adapt and develop resistance to them. If you get a antibiotics-resistant bacterial infection, you have to try a new antibiotic.

Answer 10

your body gets used to them and they become less effective. you become more resistant.