The comparison of antibiotic drugs and herbal medicine

The discovery of antibiotic drugs is one of the major breakthroughs in Western modern medicine. Antibiotics are drugs such as penicillin and streptomycin used to fight infections and infectious diseases caused by bacteria. Such penicillin-related antibiotics as ampicillin, amoxicillin and benzyl penicilllin are widely used today to treat a variety of infections. Unfortunately, decades of abuse and misuse have led to growing problems of bacterial mutation and resistance.

Resistance of bacteria to the effects of antibiotics has become a major problem in the treatment of disease. Bacteria that are not killed or stopped by antibacterial drugs may change in form so that they resist attack against their cell walls—or even produce enzymes that kill the antibiotics. Prescribing antibiotic drugs when they are not needed, not taking the drugs as prescribed, and using the drugs for long periods of time all contribute to the development of resistant strains of bacteria.

At this moment, many of these "super bugs" can only be treated with the newest and most potent antibiotic drugs, and unfortunately, many of them have potent side effects as well.

Measures to control the spread of antibiotic-resistant diseases include alternative therapy with herbs. Herbs and herbal formulas as traditional Chinese medicineare also extremely effective for treatment of various infections.

In fact, most modern pharmaceutical drugs were originally derived from natural sources, including penicillin [the oldest antibiotic] and gentimicin [one of the most potent]. One of the main benefits of using herbs is their wide spectrum of antibiotic effect, with indications for bacterial and viral infections. Furthermore, most of these herbs are extremely safe, and do not have the same harsh side effects as drugs. Therefore, when treating patients with bacterial or viral infections, it may be beneficial to use the herbs noted with confirmed antibacterial and antiviral effects.

Actually, both drugs and herbs are effective to treat mild to moderate cases of bacterial infections. but use of herbs is far more effective than drugs for treating certain viral infections, such as the common cold and influenza, as drugs are essentially ineffective for these conditions. Most importantly, herbs are much gentler to the body and safer than drugs. In other words, herbs treat infection without damaging the patient's underlying constitution. This allows the patient to recover faster, and become more resistant to secondary or re-current infections.