Drugs and antibiotics
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| drugs | 药物 | yào wù |
| medicinal | 药用的 | yào yòng de |
| antibiotics | 抗生素 | kàng shēng sù |
| antibiotic resistance | 抗生素耐药性 | kàng shēng sù nài yào xìng |
Helpful and harmful chemicals
- Some chemicals heal us; others harm us. Both are drugs 药物 — substances that change how the body works.
- Used well they save lives; misused they cause great damage.
Drug and antibiotic lab
Sort medical examples by what the drug can and cannot do.
A drug is a substance that:
A drug alters the body's chemistry; it can help or harm.
What a drug is
- A drug is a substance taken into the body that changes chemical reactions in it.
- Medicinal 药用的 drugs treat illness; recreational drugs are taken for their effects and can be harmful.
Antibiotics 抗生素 kill bacteria but have no effect on viruses
Resistant bacteria survive the antibiotic and multiply, so the whole population becomes resistant
Antibiotics are effective against:
Antibiotics kill bacteria, not viruses.
Antibiotics can cure a cold caused by a virus.
Colds are viral; antibiotics do not work on viruses.
Antibiotics
- Antibiotics kill bacteria (or stop them growing) inside the body.
- They do not work against viruses — so antibiotics can't cure a cold or flu.
Clear rings show where antibiotics have killed the bacteria on the plate
Antibiotic resistance is made worse by:
Overuse lets resistant bacteria survive and spread.
To reduce resistance, you should always finish the ______ of antibiotics.
Finishing the course kills all the bacteria.
Antibiotic resistance 抗生素耐药性
- Overusing antibiotics lets resistant bacteria survive and spread — antibiotic resistance.
- To slow it: only use antibiotics when needed, and always finish the course.
Antibiotics don't work on viruses. A cold or flu is viral, so antibiotics won't help — taking them anyway just breeds resistant bacteria. Use them only for bacterial infections.
Cigarettes contain nicotine, an addictive drug
You've got it
- a drug changes the body's chemical reactions; medicinal drugs treat illness
- antibiotics kill bacteria but not viruses
- overuse causes antibiotic resistance — only use when needed and finish the course