Antibiotics are a group of various substances that can be divided into several groups (approximately 16 groups) according to the origin, structure and mechanism of action. Based on this, each antibiotic works against a different spectrum of bacteria. To increase their effectiveness, antibiotics can be combined with different mechanisms of action. Overuse of antibiotics (in both human and veterinary medicine) results in the development of resistance.

Antimicrobial resistance is the ability of bacteria to resist the effects of antibiotics (reduced or lost effectiveness) and is caused mainly by their unnecessary or incorrect use.

How the spread of resistant bacteria can be prevented:

• always take antibiotics at the prescribed interval (eg after 8 hours) and observe the prescribed period of use (eg 7 days),
• respect the advice of the doctor and pharmacist in order for antibiotics to remain effective in the future,
• use antibiotics exclusively in the treatment of bacterial infections - they are not effective against viral diseases (colds, flu),
• reduce non-targeted administration of broad-spectrum antibiotics in infections for which narrow-spectrum antibiotics would suffice,
• do not store residues and do not throw antibiotics in the normal waste, return them to the pharmacy for disposal.

If the infection is caused by resistant bacteria, it is advisable to determine the susceptibility and use an antibiotic according to the results of the microbiological laboratory.

Freely according to the web portal of the Czech Pharmaceutical Chamber for the public Lékárnické drops, 22.11.2021