Daily Archives: August 24, 2015


Cleaning Up Bacteria’s Mess [Show Notes]

Bacteria and Antibiotics

MIC stands for Minimum Inhibitory Concentration, and is the lowest amount of antibiotic required to stop the bacteria.

Antibiotics either kill the bacteria or slow it down enough that your own immune system can get rid of it.

Antibiotics are designed to keep a certain amount of medicine in your body over a certain number of days to ensure the infection is completely gone.

Do not take antibiotics that you have left over because you most likely do not have enough medicine for a full course of treatment.

Here’s a Metaphor

Think about a spot of dirt on the floor:

Dirt + a few drops of water = mud

Dirt + a whole pitcher of water = a watery mess

Dirt + a wet rag = clean floor

Relate it to Bacteria

Infection + too little antibiotic = resistance

Infection + too much antibiotic = side effects

Infection + the right dose of antibiotic = you get better

The Take Away

The gap between the lowest effective dose and the highest, non-toxic dose is called the Therapeutic Index.  This is the information that is used to determine the dose of many medications and how they should be taken. 

That is why you should always take antibiotics exactly as directed and until they are all gone.

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