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How do antibiotics work?

Medicine & HealthLesson on requestFree to read

Quick answer

Antibiotics work by targeting structures or processes that bacteria need to live and multiply — but that human cells don't have. Some burst the bacteria's cell wall, others stop them making proteins or copying DNA, killing them or halting their growth.

Step by step

  1. They exploit differences between bacterial and human cells.
  2. Some destroy the bacterial cell wall; others block protein or DNA production.
  3. 'Bactericidal' ones kill bacteria; 'bacteriostatic' ones stop them multiplying.
  4. They don't affect viruses, which work completely differently.

People also ask

How do antibiotics kill bacteria?
By attacking bacteria-specific targets — like their cell wall or protein-making machinery — that human cells lack.
Why don't antibiotics harm our own cells?
They target features unique to bacteria, so human cells are largely unaffected.
Why does antibiotic resistance develop?
Overuse lets surviving, tougher bacteria multiply and pass on resistance, so the drugs stop working.