Chapter 15: Drugs

Question 1

Define drug.

Answer 1

A drug is any substance that when taken into the body will affect or change chemical reactions in the body.

Question 2

What are medicinal drugs?

Answer 2

Drugs that used to treat infections, cure diseases or reduce symptoms.

Question 3

What are antibiotics used for?

Answer 3

Treating bacterial infections.

Question 4

How do antibiotics work?

Answer 4

By killing (or preventing the reproduction of) the bacteria causing the problem, without killing your own body cells.

Question 5

Do antibiotics destroy viruses?

Answer 5

No, they only target bacterial cells. So taking antibiotics will not help in treating a viral infection.

Question 6

How do bacteria become resistant to antibiotics?

Answer 6

Mutations can cause the genetic material in bacteria to change.

Sometimes this change to bacteria’s genetic material can make them resistant to an antibiotic.

So if you have an infection, some of the bacteria might be resistant to antibiotics.

This means that when you treat the infection, only the non-resistant strains of bacteria will be killed.

The individual resistant bacteria will survive and reproduce so the population of the resistant strain will increase.

Question 7

How do you slow down the rate of development of resistant strains?

Answer 7

1. Doctors should provide antibiotics when they are really needed.
2. Patients should finish the whole course of antibiotics.