Can Your Sweat Kill Bacteria ? | Teen Ink

Can Your Sweat Kill Bacteria ?

May 28, 2014
By Jada Atkins BRONZE, Palmbay, Florida
Jada Atkins BRONZE, Palmbay, Florida
3 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Antibiotics work in two different ways either by killing the bacteria or blocking its function. But overprescribing them has many negatives effects. If antibiotics are used in excess amount, they decrease the patient’s recovery progress. When treating patients with E.coli exposure in the body; doctors prescribe heavy dosage of antibiotics to kill the bacteria and preventing further growth from the bacteria.

E. coli is versatile and well-adapted to its characteristic habitats. E coli is an unicellular organism it can sense the presence or absence of chemicals and gases in its environment and swim towards or away from them; Or it can stop swimming and grow fimbriae that will specifically attach it to a cell or surface receptor. E. coli can also grow in media with glucose as the sole organic constituent. (Wild-type) E. coli has no growth factor requirements, and metabolically it can transform glucose into all of the macromolecular components that make up the cell. The bacterium can grow in the presence or absence of O2. Under anaerobic conditions it will grow by means of fermentation, producing characteristic "mixed acids and gas" as end products E. coli can respond to environmental signals such as chemicals, pH, temperature, osmolality, etc.

Antibiotics are effective against bacteria because they work to kill these living organisms by stopping their growth and reproduction. An antibiotic has also the ability to convert glucose in the body into energy. Antibiotics work in two different ways either by killing the bacteria or blocking its function. But overprescribing them has many negatives effects. If antibiotics are used in excess amount, they decrease the patient’s recovery progress. The Patient can suffer from allergic reactions resulting in headaches, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. If antibiotics are used frequently it causes specific bacteria to develop resistance against that particular antibiotic and it may result in the cause of cancer. It may lead to the removal of both harmful as well as beneficial bacteria from the body. The other disadvantage is that they may decrease the iron level, magnesium and calcium level from the body. If the iron is removed from the body, it results in sickle cell anemia. Antibiotics do not work on viruses because viruses are not alive. A bacterium is a living, reproducing life form.

. Dermcidin (DCD), a recently discovered AMP with broad-spectrum activity, is produced constitutively by the eccrine sweat glands, delivered by circulating cells and then secreted into the sweat. In human skin, keratinocytes are a major source of antimicrobial active peptides or larger proteins. Antimicrobial peptides from human skin are an important component of the innate immune response and play a key role as a first line of defense against infections. One such peptide is the recently discovered dermcidin-1L. Too little is now known about dermicidin to predict whether it can be turned into a therapeutic agent suggest that the bodily excretion may be a lifesaver. It seems that sweat contains a potent germ-fighting agent that may lend a hand in fighting off infections.

If researchers maybe found a way to incorporate the protein Dermcidin in antibiotics then maybe we can find a human based antimicrobial that can be used in future medications to prevent the further growth of E.coli without the depletion of the immune system and exposure to any additional diseases



Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 0 comments.