My personal philosophy towards antibiotic is neutral. I have never taken any antibiotic, but I would take it if doctors say so. From prior knowledge, I understand the mechanism of antibiotic is any compound, natural or synthetic, that inhibits the growth or actively kills, microorganisms. The mechanisms of antibiotics include interfering with the cell wall synthesis or maintenance, interfering with nucleic acid synthesis, and interfering with protein synthesis; microorganisms need these functions to be growth and replicate. Most antibiotics do not target specific microbes or strains; antibiotics will lead to severe side effects because of the unspecificity.
Another downside of antibiotics is the problem of antibiotic resistance. Overuse of antibiotics could potentially lead to antibiotic resistance. Due to horizontal transfer, plasmid gene can pass through the different organism. Often the plasmid genes are what carry the resistant gene. The plasmid gene could incorporate with the chromosome DNA, then produce proteins that resistant to antibiotics. Overall, I would use antibiotic if I need to, but I also prefer other better solutions.
