Are there any over -the -counter antibiotics?

Although local products with antibiotic properties can be purchased without a prescription, no over -the -counter antibiotics for internal use are allowed in the United States. Other countries follow different practices and allow you to purchase some antibiotics without a prescription, but the strongest medicines are never generally available at the counter. The main reason for limiting over -the -counter antibiotics is to prevent excessive use and abuse of antibiotics, reduce unnecessary side effects and slow down resistance to antibiotics in bacteria. Antibiotics

are only useful in the treatment of bacterial infections such as string of the neck or tuberculosis. They are not used in solving viral infections such as colds and flu. However, consumers do not always understand the difference between viruses and bacteria, and often try to buy and use antibiotics if they suffer from viral infections.

All these drugs work according to attacking and killing or weakening of bacteria, but this process is never perfect and not allY bacteria exposed to antibiotics die. The patient -treated immune system will usually be able to complete the task and survive any bacteria with resistance to the antibiotic used.

Every time an antibiotic is used, there is some chance that bacteria with resistance to this medicine will survive. These bacteria can then pass on their immunity to their descendants, and eventually the entire bacterial population will be either resistant or immune to antibiotics that was once effective against it. In the United States, over -the -counter antibiotics are limited to minimize the speed at which bacteria can develop antibiotic resistance.

In the use of antibiotics, serious side effects may also occur. Because antibiotics are essentially toxinsproofing directly into the human body when they fight bacterial infection. Antibiotics are formulated to cause sufficientDamage to bacteria to eliminate infection, but generally does not constantly hurt a person, but there are still risks associated with the use of antibiotics. For example, the normal human body contains the populations of symbiotic microbes, especially in the digestive tract, and antibiotics can kill them, causing intestinal problems.

Local antibiotics are an exception to the general prohibition of over -the -counter antibiotics in the United States. Because they usually act outside the body, these antibiotics may be much stronger than internally, and side effects are less a problem. These current free -the -counter antibiotics should never be used internally.