55
Antibiotics: What They Are
and How to Use Them
CHAPTER
7
When used correctly, antibiotics are extremely useful and important medicines.
They fight certain infections and diseases caused by bacteria. Well-known antibiotics
are penicillin, tetracycline, streptomycin, chloramphenicol, and the sulfa drugs, or
sulfonamides.
The different antibiotics work in different ways against specific infections.
All antibiotics have dangers in their use, but some are far more dangerous than
others. Take great care in choosing and using antibiotics.
There are many kinds of antibiotics, and each kind is sold under several ‘brand
names’. This can be confusing. However, the most important antibiotics fall into a few
major groups:
antibiotic group
examples of
(generic name)
brand names
brand names
in your area
(write in)
see
page
PENICILLINS
Pen-V-K
AMPICILLINS*
Penbritin
TETRACYCLINES
Terramycin
SULFAS (SULFONAMIDES) Gantrisin
COTRIMOXAZOLE
Bactrim
STREPTOMYCIN, etc.
Ambistryn
CHLORAMPHENICOL
Chloromycetin
ERYTHROMYCIN
Erythrocin
CEPHALOSPORINS
Keflex
350
352
355
356
357
353, 361
356
354
358
*Note: Ampicillin is a type of penicillin that kills more kinds of bacteria than do
ordinary penicillins.
If you have a brand-name antibiotic and do not know to which group it belongs,
read the fine print on the bottle or box. For example, if you have some Paraxin ‘S’ but
do not know what is in it, read the fine print. It says ‘chloramphenicol’.
Look up chloramphenicol in the GREEN PAGES
(p. 356). You will find it must be used only for a few
very serious illnesses, like typhoid, and is especially
dangerous when given to the newborn.
Never use an antibiotic unless you know to what group it belongs, what
diseases it fights, and the precautions you must take to use it safely.