Antimicrobial Drugs - Video Lesson

Welcome back everybody to our discussion of the different classes of medication. This lesson focuses on the common types of antimicrobial drugs, their use and administration, and precautions specific to this class of medication. Understanding antimicrobials is crucial in that it is this class of drugs which supplements the body's natural immune systems to fight infection when they become overwhelmed or compromised. An antimicrobial can be defined as any agent that acts against various types of microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses. Antimicrobials include a wide range of drugs that can kill or inhibit the growth of these microorganisms to prevent and treat infections. Antimicrobials break down into four subsets of infection fighting drugs based on the specific type of microbe they are effective against. These four types are antibiotics, antifungals, antiparasitic, and antivirals. Antibiotics are broadly classified.