Contrary to the opinion of the conventional medical establishment, there is no free lunch when it comes to antibiotics. Doctors, for the most part, are still handing out prescriptions like candy to their patients despite the continuing and growing problem of antibiotic resistance.
There is now a strain of tuberculosis (TB), the scourge of the last century, that is completely resistant to all antibiotics. Doctors have nicknamed this TB strain “TDR” for Totally Drug-Resistant. As of January 2012, a dozen patients in India were infected with this TB superbug.
The problem with Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections continues to expand with babies and children representing a large chunk of the cases. I’ve been contacted by more than one young mother recently who was beyond desperate to resolve an MRSA infection in her child – an infection which was resisting all conventional treatments like antibiotics.
Beyond the problem of antibiotic resistance, however, are the long term effects of even a single round of antibiotics. The expectation in the health community that you can just fix the damage with probiotics and/or fermented foods and that gut flora magically returns to normal seems to be far from accurate.
Evidence is now emerging from multiple sources that gut flora may actually be permanently altered by drugs or, at the very least, the damage persists for several years.
Gut Damage from Antibiotics Persists for Long Periods of Time
The Journal Microbiology reports that the generally acknowledged precept that use of antibiotics only causes disruption of the gut flora for a few weeks is highly flawed.
Gut flora does not quickly return to normal after a round of antibiotics.
Even a short course of antibiotics can lead to resistant bacterial populations taking up residence in the gut that persists for up to 4 years – maybe even longer.
As a result, researchers are urging prudence and restraint in the use of antibiotics in order to prevent treatment failure for patients that have resistant bacterial populations still residing in their intestines from previous courses of antibiotics.
What this means is that taking antibiotics today for an illness that is not life-threatening may, in fact, lead to a growth of superbugs in your gut that could actually threaten your life down the road and prevent antibiotics from working for you when you desperately need it.
Could Damage to Gut Flora Be Permanent?
Dr. Martin Blaser MD of New York University’s Langone Medical Center who writes in the August 2011 edition of Nature, has this to say about damage to gut flora from antibiotics:
Early evidence from my lab and others hints that, sometimes, our friendly flora never fully recover. These long-term changes to the beneficial bacteria within people’s bodies may even increase our susceptibility to infections and disease. Overuse of antibiotics could be fueling the dramatic increase in conditions such as obesity, type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, allergies and asthma, which have more than doubled in many populations.
As evidence, Blaser goes on to say that infections with H. pylori, the bacterial cause of ulcers, has plummeted in recent years. H. pylori, as it turns out, is very susceptible to the same broad-spectrum antibiotics used to treat children’s ear infections and colds which are doled out without much thought at most pediatrician offices.
Shockingly, the majority of children routinely receive up to 20 courses of antibiotics before the age of 18. In addition, between one third and one-half of pregnant women receive antibiotics during pregnancy. The high C-section rate also negatively affects the composition of gut flora of these children. They completely miss out on exposure to Mom’s friendly bacteria as they travel through the birth canal.
This is a lot of antibiotic exposure for our younger generations and the implications for those children who don’t acquire H. pylori due to excessive antibiotics appear to be dramatic with a higher risk for both allergies and asthma. This may be the case even when attempts to repair the gut after a course is completed are followed.
Blaser’s research group has also observed that lack of H. pylori in the human body affects the production of ghrelin and leptin, 2 hormones that play a factor in weight gain.
Preservation of the MicroBiome
The composition of a person’s microbiome, not only in the gut but also on the skin and everywhere in the body, has huge implications for long term health. Altering this balance with antibiotics not only negatively affects the variety of bacterial species present but also promotes the retention of resistant bacteria in the gut for up to 4 years and perhaps far longer.
Preservation of your personal microbiome is critical and affects not only your health but the health of your children as parents bequeath their microbiome to their offspring.
Blaser observes that:
“Each generation … could be beginning life with a smaller endowment of ancient microbes than the last.”
If Dr. Blaser and the other researchers are correct, it seems that people need to guard their microbiome against the assault of antibiotics in the same manner that they protect their home and possessions with locks on the doors.
Bottom line?
If your illness is not life-threatening, skip the antibiotics even for something like strep which even WebMD admits will almost always resolve without drugs or complications. The risk to your future health is just too great otherwise.
Sources and More Information
Long-Term Impacts of Antibiotic Exposure on the Human Intestinal Microbiota
Short-term antibiotic treatment has differing long-term impacts on the human throat and gut microbiome
Stop the Killing of Beneficial Bacteria
Are Antibiotics Always Necessary for Strep Throat?
The 11 Best Natural Antibiotics and How to Use Them
How to Kick Strep Throat Faster and Better Without Antibiotics
so what are some other ways besides antibiotics? i am very new to this.
Efje use h2o2 dilute to three percent and gargle it will pull the infection out! It does work I have tried it and I didn’t need a dentist!! Although if I didn’t do that it would have been a filling..
Order it from amazon Bobbys brand I use costs ten quid and you can use it for so much!
Amanda Ruth That’s a great way to say it .. using antibiotics mindfully. Doctors and patients alike just knee jerk and go to the meds without considering the ramifications down the road. Nothing wrong with antibiotics .. they are truly a wonder class of drugs but we need to not get complacent and use them without vigilance and prudence.
Efje read the book Cure Tooth Decay. I recently had an abscess on a tooth that had a crown (very painful) they recommended that I have the tooth removed. Instead I cut out refined sugars/grains, took probiotics and cod liver oil and it healed 🙂
god forebid if you post information on using antibiotics mindfully – you might be labeled as ANTI-antibiotics ugh. This seen in my other areas..delay/select vacines?=ANTIvaccine…breastfeed?=ANTIformula…use natural remedies?=ANTImedicine….this post talks more about this…http://blindedbythelightt.blogspot.com/2013/01/anti-vaccine-vs-pro-vaccine.html
I have problems with chronic mastitis that doesn’t clear up without abx 🙁 I hate hearing things like this and I don’t know what I can do differently. Weaning is not an option
I got mastitis so bad that my chest was so full of infection my chest popped out the side, it was bigger than a quarter. I healed it with taking 1000 grams of vitamin c every hour for a couple of days. I did slippery elm packs three times a day, oils that you would think would be good for the infection, and soaking in the tub three times a day in Epsom salt, right after the slippery elm pack. I also ate more fruits and vegetables, and I think I did a apple cider vinegar pack too… It was a lot of work, but payed off.. Oh And lots and lots off rest!!!!
When I had mastitis first time, I called the on-call physician at our local hospital and he diagnosed it OVER THE PHONE and prescribed antibiotics. I asked at least 3 times whether he wanted to examine me to make sure that was what it was, answer: no. I felt worse than before I called as I was desparate not to use antibiotics. It occurred to me to call a natural health clinic. It was Sat and a doc (naturopath) was in and said he’d need to see me to confirm I had mastitis and made time to do so as I felt that bad. He spend over half an hour wih me (way longer than ny doctor I’d ever been to before) evaluating me. He prescribed a homeopathic remedy specific to my constitution. I did the warm castor oil compress he also recommended and took my homeopathic remedy and slept. Within two hours the mastitis was gone! No antibiotics necessary. I used it again when I started to get mastitis at a much later date and it worked instantly. Now I use homeopathy for everything (has to be prescribed for you specifically) by a trained homeopath, as it is NOT a one-size-fits-all formula like regular drugs. I cannot recommend it enough. It has always worked on my daughter with colds etc. as well :D.
I seem to get mastitis a few times with every child… I have four now. The first time I took antibiotics and was told to wean my 18 month old. It was absolute torture. I have since learned to recognize when mastitis might be coming on, and use alternative methods. First, I just nurse through the pain. The mastitis is not as bad if the breast is empty. Next, I use warm compresses. I favor a strong solution of chamomile tea. Chamomile is naturally antibacterial. I soak the cloth in the hot tea, and then hold it to the breast until it starts to cool off. I repeat this several times. If I don’t catch the mastitis early, sometime I will have to use oil of oregano internally to fight off the infection, along with the warm compresses.
I used a cabbage leaf compress with great results. Simply blanch cabbage leaves, put on your breast with a towel and leave it there. I would replace it every couple of hours, and I continued breast feeding. It was better within a few hours and gone by the next day.
I hate antibiotics too but had to take it this past year also due to pneumonia. 🙁
Lauren Snyder Grosz I totally agree .. it is so easy to let that daily dose slip. My husband got lax this year and got a nasty chest infection that no one else in the house got (because the rest of us were taking our dose!). He got over it without any drugs thankfully using just alternative methods but he won’t get lax again because the next time might not be so lucky.
What do people think about nordic naturals cod liver oil?
I really appreciate your feedback. I’ll definitely be better prepared next year. We had recently run out of fermented cod liver oil and I was lax about reordering with things being so hectic. Lesson learned!