Penicillin is a very popular antibiotic used to alleviate multiple infections; all of bacterial origin not caused by any virus; Therefore, it should not be used as a treatment for flu, cold, sika, or the like. However, many people, if not almost all, are unaware of the origin of this wonderful medicine.
The group of so-called penicillins belongs to the beta-lactam antibiotics, which are generally used to treat bacteria that are more sensitive to this component. The most famous and most widely used penicillin is benzylpenicillin, which is used intramuscularly or intravenously since gastric juices render its action ineffective. This component is sold pharmacologically in Spain as Farmaproina, Benzetacil, Penibiot, Penilevel, or Sodiopen, among others.
In this post, we have considered telling you a little more about penicillin so that you can learn about the importance of knowing relevant information about the drugs you use daily. Surely you have never thought about who invented penicillin when you are lying in bed with tonsillitis, but how happy you feel when the fever passes and you get better.
Instructions
- Penicillin has created a reputation in the medical and pharmacological society as it was the first antibiotic to be widely used in medical treatments for multiple infections. Due to its accessibility in terms of its low cost and its effective action, doctors have prescribed it left and right, and continue to do so.
- Initially, it was the Costa Rican named Clodomiro Clorito Picado Twight who discovered it, from the analysis of his investigations already carried out in 1927 on the inhibitory action of the types of fungi belonging to the genus Penicillium in streptococci and staphylococci. And although he managed to report his brilliant discovery to the famous Paris Academy of Sciences, he was unable to patent it.
- Subsequently, Alexander Fleming was officially considered the creator of this wonderful drug in 1928; which is evidenced when in 1945 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. This is because he completed Picado’s experiments and research. However, it was thanks to Howard Walter Florey and Ernst Boris Chain that this drug could be distributed, as they invented the production method necessary to bring it to the market on a massive scale.
What do you need
Surely you have heard that if you are prescribed penicillin due to an infection, you should avoid birth control pills, carbonated drinks, and citrus juices because they inhibit their effects; but some doctors forget to test you for allergies before prescribing them.
There are many types of penicillin, but they differ from each other according to their spectrum of action. Also, although they are one of the antibiotics with the least degree of toxicity, many people have developed allergies to them. Therefore, it is important to carry out tests before indicating this medication for the first time, since anaphylactic shock due to allergy can cause death.
Other of the most common symptoms presented in patients who have developed a penicillin allergy are:
- Minor, or severe, skin rash known as hives.
- Gastrointestinal disorders such as diarrhea, colic, abdominal pain, nausea, gas, indigestion, and vomiting.
- Proliferation of oral or vaginal infection by
- Anemia.
- Seizures.
- Drowsiness.
- Epidermal necrosis at the injection site.
Tips
- In general, it is said that only 1% of the patient population is allergic to penicillin, but this is not the case, there are many more cases, almost around 10%, especially to one of its derivatives known as penicillin. cephalosporins
- For this reason, if someone in your family has suffered from an allergy to penicillin, this history is already an indication that you are prone to being allergic; therefore, we recommend that you perform a subcutaneous test before starting any treatment with penicillin.
Most popular penicillins
- Benzylpenicillin: for intramuscular or intravenous use, it is the most economical of the natural penicillins. It is especially indicated to treat mild, moderate, severe, and systemic infections such as tonsillitis, pneumonia, gonorrhea, bronchopneumonia; bacterial meningitis, syphilis, treatment of abscesses, osteomyelitis, diphtheria, and sepsis, among others.
- Procaine penicillin: known as procaine penicillin G, also for intramuscular and intravenous use. It is used for the treatment of bacterial infections such as pneumococcus, syphilis, acute otitis and media, mastoiditis, acute tonsillitis, and pneumococcal pneumonia.
- Phenoxymethylpenicillin: known as penicillin V, it is synthetic; therefore its use is oral. Generally indicated for bacterial infections caused by streptococci and pneumococci, such as pharyngitis, tonsillitis, some skin infections, and gingivitis.
- Ampicillin and amoxicillin: belonging to the group of aminopenicillins, they are used orally, intravenously, and intramuscularly. Known pharmacologically as Britapen, Gobemycin, Retarpen, Amitron, Clamoxy, CO-Amoxiclav, Augmentin, and Duonasa, among others. It is especially indicated to treat tonsillitis, bronchitis, and pharyngitis. Also, some skin and soft tissue infections. Various bacterial infections in the lower respiratory tract such as bronchitis and in the upper respiratory tract such as bacterial rhinitis. It is also indicated for urinary, digestive, gynecological (generally to treat pelvic sepsis and septic abortion), dental, ear, nose and throat, and post-surgical infections.