How do antibiotics work? Are there many kinds or a few that have mutiple purposes?… by *gYpS
For instance, when people have an infection and the doctor gives them antibiotics, do they prescribe different kinds based on what type of infection it is? Like a throat infection, lungs, skin, sexual organs (STD), eyes, lymph nodes, etc.?
When you take the antibiotics, do they just find the infection in your body and work on it? Or do different types have specific functions?
Thanks for any knowledge you can share 
Thanks everyone. I understand a lot better now. I've always wondered how they work when they enter your body. Now I see there are many kinds that work on certain groups like some for respiratory infections, some anti-fungal, etc. I've taken antibiotics before and I do remember that finishing the prescribed amount of pills was really stressed by the doc.
Thanks again!
Best Answer:
There are many antibiotics that do different things. For the most part, antibiotics target processes in infections that are different from our functions. Some of the more serious antibiotics work by killing the infection faster than it kills us, for example. Fortunately, this is rare.
Different antibiotics target different kinds of infection. For example, bacteria can be put into 3 basic groups (for the most part) and different antibiotics do better against a certain group. These groups are gram positive (penicillins usually work good against these), gram negative (Cipro-like do good against these,) and anaerobic bacteria (Flagyl works good against these.) Of course, these aren't firm rules. Penicillins can treat many gram negatives, and Cipro can treat many gram positives, etc. Some antibiotics, like Clindamycin work well against more than 1 group (gram positive and anaerobes).
Some antibiotics target different functions. Penicillins interfere with the cell walls of bacteria, many antibiotics interfere with the way microbes copy their genes, and some affect how microbes make folate (like bactrim.) Some antibiotics kill microbes outright, and others slow them down and just keep them from reproducing untill our immune system catches up or they die of old age.
Lastly, different antibiotics have a tendancy to go to different parts of the body. Bactrim likes to head for the urinary system, so it is good to treat UTIs. Penicillins sometimes have trouble getting through to the brain so another antibiotic might be used in meningitis. Other antibiotics might spend more time in the respiratory system, etc.
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