Taking oral antibiotics can damage the normal human gut microbiota and increase

Question

Taking oral antibiotics can damage the normal human gut microbiota and increase growth of pathogens. Could something similar occur when topical antibiotics are used on skin?

Part F - Effects of antimicrobials on the normal microbiota Taking oral antibiotics can damage the normal human gut microbiota and increase growth of pathogens. Could something similar occur when topical antibiotics are used on skin? Yes, because the antibiotics may encourage the growth of antibiotic-resistant species No, because antibiotics do not penetrate the skin, and skin microbes live beneath the upper layers of the epidermis No, because antibiotics used on the skin are less toxic than those taken orally Yes, because the microbial communities on the skin and in the gut are very similar in composition No, because antibiotics only target harmful species and do not harm the normal microbiota Yes, because the normal microbiota help to prevent colonization by pathogenic species

Explanation / Answer

The gut microbiota are a complex species of bacteria and many of them being anaerobic. They are important for digestion of undigested carbohydrates and by competition they inhibit the colonization of pathogenic species. They also pproduce antimicrobial substances for eliminating pathogens. For example, Lactobacillus produces lactic acid that prevents the growth of pathogenic bacteria. Among anarobic species Bacteroids are common.

The consumption of antibiotics eliminate the normal microbiota of gut by disrupting their cellwalls or damaging DNa or inhibiting transcription or translation. The topical antibiotics are less active or toxic than oral antibiotics and hence cannot penetrate deep into tissues and act only on pathogenic species. Therefore option 2 is correct.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse T
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.