I just got some antibiotics, and they were old-school powdery white pills, not the capsules or geltabs or whatever that are more common these days. And they had that HORRIBLE super-strong pill flavor that pills always used to have… (If you’ve tasted it, you know what I mean). What the heck is that?
Many medicinal substances are alkaloids of some type, natural or synthesized. Unfortunately, a common property of many alkaloids is a bitter taste.
It is the antibiotic itself telling you that it is poison.
It is poison. Fortunately, however, it is even more poisonous to the bacteria (or whatever) that are infecting you than it is to you.
Not always poison, unless you mean that everything is a poison in the right dosage or some anaphylactic reaction.
A cell wall synthesis inhibitor (e.g. A β-lactam antibiotic) should have no effect on you because you don’t have cell walls for it to disrupt the synthesis of, whereas some bacteria do.
Did you go for the generic or cheaper brand? It’s going to cost more for pretty packaging for each pill. It does the same job, but you pay for not having the icky pill taste.