MOA makes bacteria MIA

There are seven major classes of antibiotics. The class derived from erythromycin, including zithromax, is called the macrolides and they are used to treat a fairly wide range of infections caused by a specific group of bacteria. Their Mode of Action (MOA) is mainly as a bacteriostatic. That means they interfere with the way in which the bacteria manufacture the proteins they need to survive. The result is they stop growing and cannot reproduce. So, over time, they slowly go missing in action (MIA), i.e. the infection fades away as the bacteria responsible die off. But, if the dosage is high, the effect becomes bactericidal, i.e. the antibiotic actually kills the pesky bacteria dead. No more hanging around for them to fade away. Warning! This news should not tempt you to take a really high dose of zithromax every time you fall sick.

The first issue is for your healthcare provider to confirm your sickness is being caused by a bacterium that will be killed by zithromax. Here’s the bad news. There are several thousand different types of bacteria and only a few of them are killed by zithromax. So, if you take this really powerful drug, it might have absolutely no effect because the cause of your problem is a different bacterium or, worse, you caught a virus. But taking this antibiotic does have an effect. It lets all the bacteria in your body have a really good look at this drug and all those that survive are resistant. So the next time you fall sick, zithromax might be the right drug for you to take but your bacteria resist its effect. Now how long is it going to take for you to get better?

The other problem is that the doctor calculates the right dosage for you based on your body weight. If you make your own decisions, you could overdose. So, if you are vomiting, your stomach is upset and diarrhea is pouring out of you, this is an emergency and you should go down to your local hospital fast. Used in the right cases and at the right dosage, zithromax is a highly effective medication for the right bacteria. If you abuse it, you could find it seriously affects your health both in the short term and in the long term by reducing its effectiveness should you get an another infection.