Bacterial infections are the type that occur when
wounds become infected. Bacteria are very small single celled organisms that are
found everywhere iin the environment and normally live in harmony with the body.
Some specific types of bacterial infection have their own name eg Stangles but
most infections are non specific and happen after an accident or weakening of
the immune system.
Most bacterial diseases will clear up by
themselves as the body gradually kills off the invading bacteria but the process
of recovery is speeded up by the use of Antibiotics which are chemicals that
were discovered to effectively kill off bacteria. Bacteria however do often
learn how to defend themselves against antibiotics and develop ‘resistance’.
Antibiotics do however have disadvantages in that they kill off good as well as
bad bacteria. This means that for example on the skin an antibiotic cream will
make the skin weaker because it kills off all the good bacteria that are helping
the skin work properly. The same is true of taking antibiotics by mouth – the
antibiotics kill off all the beneficial bacteria in your intestines before they
manage to get to the site of an infection in the body. This is whey many vets
advise taking probiotics – to replace the good bacteria that have been killed
off.
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