What is the Difference Between Steroids and Antibiotics

The key difference between steroids and antibiotics is that steroids are fat-soluble organic compounds used to treat inflammatory and allergic conditions, while antibiotics are antimicrobial compounds used to treat bacterial infections.

Steroids and antibiotics are very important drugs in many clinical setups around the world. Both are used to treat a wide range of medical conditions. Basically, steroids are anti-inflammatory agents, while antibiotics are bactericidal or bacteriostatic agents. Misuse of both steroids and antibiotics can lead to adverse side effects such as deterioration of the immune system. Therefore, both of these drugs are highly important for saving millions of lives worldwide.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What are Steroids 
3. What are Antibiotics
4. Similarities –  Steroids and Antibiotics
5. Steroids vs Antibiotics in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Steroids and Antibiotics

What are Steroids?

Steroids are fat-soluble organic compounds used to treat inflammatory and allergic conditions. Steroids are usually categorized into sex steroids, corticosteroids, and anabolic steroids. All of these are used as medical aids in different kinds of illnesses. A typical example of sex steroids is testosterone, which is widely employed in reproductive regulation such as contraception and correction of hormonal imbalances. Anabolic steroids aid in muscle and bone synthesis and boost strength. Nandrolone and oxandrolone are examples of anabolic steroids. Lastly, corticosteroids help in the regulation of metabolism, immune function, blood volume, and renal excretion of electrolytes.

Most of the medically used steroids fall into the corticosteroids group and are used to treat inflammatory conditions like asthma, eczema, and even cancer-like leukemia. Steroids can be directly applied onto the area that needs treating or as an injection directly into inflamed joints. Sometimes they are ingested as pills or injected into muscles or veins. Furthermore, some of the long-term drawbacks of using steroids are eye cataracts, glaucoma, muscle weakness, high blood pressure, inhibited growth in children, thinning of bones, skin problems like bruising or acne, weight gain,  and immune failure.

What are Antibiotics?

Antibiotics are antimicrobial compounds used to treat bacterial infections. Antibiotics can be organic or inorganic compounds. Antibiotics revolutionized medicine in the 20^th century. Antibiotics are known as magic bullets, which can terminate bacterial infections. However, they are not used to treat viral, fungal, and other nonbacterial diseases. Antibiotics are either bactericidal or bacteriostatic agents. Generally, bactericidal antibiotics target the bacterial cell wall, membrane, or enzymes. Some examples are penicillin, cephalosporin, quinolone, and sulfonamide. However, bacteriostatic antibiotics directly target protein synthesis. Examples are tetracycline and aminoglycoside.

The misuse of these drugs can contribute to the emergence of resistant bacteria. These resistant bacteria are even impossible to combat. They are also likely to have a negative effect on the human immune system.

What are the Similarities Between Steroids and Antibiotics?

• Steroids and antibiotics are very important drugs in many clinical setups around the world.
• Both drugs can be organic in nature.
• Both drugs are used to treat a wide range of medical conditions.
• Misuse of both steroids and antibiotics can lead to adverse side effects such as deterioration of the immune system.
• Both of these drugs are highly important for saving millions of lives worldwide.

What is the Difference Between Steroids and Antibiotics?

Steroids are fat-soluble organic compounds used to treat inflammatory and allergic conditions, while antibiotics are chemical compounds used to treat bacterial infections. So, this is the key difference between steroids and antibiotics. Furthermore, steroids are organic compounds, while antibiotics can be organic or inorganic compounds.

The below infographic presents the differences between steroids and antibiotics in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Steroids vs Antibiotics

Steroids and antibiotics are very important drugs that are highly important for saving millions of lives worldwide. Steroids are fat-soluble organic compounds used to treat inflammatory and allergic conditions. Antibiotics are chemical compounds used to treat bacterial infections. Thus, this summarizes the difference between steroids and antibiotics.

Reference:

1. “Steroids.” NHS Choices, NHS.
2. “Antibiotics: What They Are, How to Take Them, Side Effects.” WebMD.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Example 8 Steroids” By Khojczyk – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Antibiotics Mechanisms of action” By Kendrick Johnson – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia