Running around inside my body and yours are millions of tiny
organisms collectively known as bacteria. They comprise 1 - 3 % of our body
weight, and the majority live in the gastrointestinal tract, where they break
down nutrients, thereby helping us to digest our food. Bacteria also live on
the surface of our body and under our eyelids. Generally we profit from having
them around, but now and again they can infect open wounds, cause food
poisoning and tooth decay.
I recently felt a tender spot on the back of my neck. It
didn’t have the appearance of a common boil; therefore I had it examined by my
doctor. She confirmed it was an infected cyst, for which she prescribed
Flucloxacillin, one of the penicillinase-resistent penicillins. This particular
antibiotic is very versatile, being able to fight bacteria infected boils,
carbuncles, skin ulcers, abscesses, eczema, acne, wounds and burns. It can also
be effective in treating infections of the chest and lungs, the pharynx, tonsils,
sinuses and ears.
Penicillin was first manufactured in the early 1940s as a
result of Howard Florey’s and
Ernst Chain’s joint research, based on Sir Alexander Flemings research into the
antibiotic’s characteristics. Penicillin
is a byproduct of rotting fungi and it was originally discovered by Ernest
Duchesne, a French medical student in 1896.
There
are about 70 antibiotics comprised of 4 types: penicillins, tetracyclines,
macrolides and cephalosporins. The more these antibiotics are used, the more
bacteria become resistant to them; in so doing superbugs or super bacteria are
created for which there are no effective antibiotics. In time, unless new
antibiotics can be found, there will be a danger that many people will succumb
to new superbugs.
Right now, having completed my treatment by taking 4 Flucloxacillin
capsules a day for 7 days I am pleased that my cyst no longer hurts and it has
shrunk in size. What caused the infection in the first place, I shall never
know. I am also pleased that I did not suffer from any of the numerous side
effects Flucloxacillin can bring about, the most frightening being whites of
the eye and skin turning yellow, unexplained bleeding, bruising and heart palpitations
One in one thousand can suffer inflammation of the bowel and/ or liver; rarely
death with people who already have liver problems and are over 50.
Links
Antibiotics according to BUPA
Bacteria
Human Gastrointestinal Tract
History of Penicillin
Antibiotic Resistance
Physical Healing
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