A little info on antibiotics and systemic anti-bacterials PART 1

Most stricture patients will have encounters with urinary tract infections, or UTI's at some point during their lifetime. Here's a little primmer which should help in understanding your practitioner's choice of medication(s) for the treatment of UTI's:

• A "Urine C&S" (is a urinalysis with a culture for bacteria, fungi, or in rare(er) cases, anaerobic organisms and protozoans), which helps the practitioner decide which is the most effective treatment with the least side effect potential. Why shoot a rabbit with a cannon when a pellet gun will suffice.

Sulfonamides: a class of oral and parenteral medications developed in the 1930's, as the first widely available therapy for infections without having the liability of toxicity that arsenicals and mercuricals did. The most common of this class of drug in North America is referred to as an "SMT Combination", a mixture of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim. Common brand names are Septra, Septra DS, Bactrim, and Bactrim DS. They are fairly inexpensive, and very, very effective. The main liability of this classification of medication is the fact that allergies to sulfonamides are commonplace.  If prescribed for you, be sure to drink plenty of water during the usual 10-day course of treatment. The oral form of the medication is usually administered twice daily.  Discontinue use, and contact your practitioner should any itching or rash develop. In the event that breathing becomes difficult, seek emergency treatment immediately.

Penicillins:  a class of oral and parenteral medications initially discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928, and developed in the 1940's,  mostly because of the need for an infection-fighting agent generated by WWII. The perfection of the manufacturing process largely took place in the United States, with priority just below that of the Manhattan Project. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, of West Chester, Pennsylvania developed the first effective process for the generation of penicillin mold from orange skins in 1942, and in conjunction with the British (with the help of an Australian scientist), who discovered the properties of this, the world's first "miracle drug"

Once the go-to treatment for gram-positive organisms, penicillin, penicillin G, procaine penicillin, and penicillin V-K are now relegated to the category of "mostly ineffective" for use in UTI's, primarily due to their over use in times past, which produced strains of bacteria resistant to the medication. Penicillin was, at one time, the first-line cure for syphilis and gonorrhea.

Per: Moderator Tim