Antibiotics - For or Against?

[Curious cat]

In my experience, i find doctors are too quick to prescribe antibiotics when in most cases, i was sure that i only had the cold. And only in recent years did i discover that antibiotics would have been useless against viral infections anyway.

Now i have much more respect for antibiotics and only use them when i absolutely must.

My son was sick recently and was prescribed his first antibiotics (he is only a little over a year old), which sparked my interest in antibiotics. My research is relatively new, but it has lead me to some interesting issues surrounding its overuse, antibiotic resistance, as well as possible adverse effects on humans consuming livestock that are pumped with antibotics.

What are your thoughts on antibiotics?

[Curious cat]

I thought these might be a couple of good starters to read about resistance, if anyone is interested.

Antibiotic resistance - Health Report - 25 April 2011

WHO | Antimicrobial resistance

[GregD]

they are 100% too quick to give people all kinds of medicines especially the kinds for which they get a bonus from the pharma companies

medicine is for emergencies only! everything else your body can handle + if needed there are multitudes of natural home remedies! just Google whatever issue you are having + home remedies or natural remedies

[ButterflyWoman]

Antibiotics can, quite literally, save your life. Some situations definitely call for them, and without them, you're pretty likely to die. And other situations, while not fatal, can lead to permanent disability if not treated with antibiotics (such as an ear infection which ends up destroying your eardrum, as happened to someone I knew).

That said, I do think antibiotics are way overprescribed. They have no effect on a viral infection, and they shouldn't be given "as a precaution", but only when there is real and clear evidence of a bacterial infection.

Happily, the doctors at the practice I've used for years are judicious with their prescription of antibiotics, and if there's ever a case where we have any left over, I take it back to the pharmacy so they can dispose of it safely rather than us putting it into a landfill or into the water system.

And, there are sometimes ways to treat infections that don't rely on antibiotics. For example, drinking cranberry juice (or cranberry-blueberry, which is supposed to be even better) can get rid of a UTI if it's not too serious (though some UTIs can actually kill you; I had a particularly horrible one once that would probably have been fatal without the antibiotics), and nasal irrigation can kick a developing sinus infection right out the door. I do try to take these kinds of steps first, but if something is serious or not going away, I'm happy to take the antibiotics as necessary.

Nobody in our household has had to have antibiotics for years, though. Last time was a UTI that didn't respond to the cranberry juice and over-the-counter Ural (a preparation that changes the pH of your urine).

[Clint Cora]

When I was on a trip to South Carolina two weeks ago to do a speaking engagement, I ate some questionable crabcakes. I shouldn't have but since we don't have 'fresh' crabcakes often up here in Toronto, I took the chance. I think these turned out to be culprits which got me the dreaded 24 hour stomach bug.

Classic symptoms of extreme chills, body aches and GI symptoms were there. After multiple trips to the washroom with runs overnight, the symptoms as expected, started to subside.

However, due to my weakened state, I caught a bad cough/cold as a secondary infection. I tried my best to fight it off myself with lots of rest, fluids, salt water gargling, extra vitamin Cs, etc.

A couple of days passed with no real improvement and after three nights of waking up EACH hour due to bad coughing, I had enough. I went to the doctor and actually hoped that he would give me a prescription for the bronchitis. He did gave me antibiotics as he thought that the infection now was bacterial rather than viral.

After two days, the coughing was much better and now has pretty well subsided. It's a good thing I'm in between speaking engagements since I have another one to do next week.

I hardly ever get sick at all but because of the circumstances I was in which started with the crabcakes, I'm pretty sure that I needed the antibiotics to wipe out whatever I had in time for my next speaking engagement.

I haven't taken any antibiotics for a couple of years so personally, I'm not worried. If I was taking them all the time, then that would be different.

[firenexx]

Antiobiotics are fine when prescribed occasionally for a severe condition.

When are they not good?
When prescribed at the first hint of a runny nose or cough.
When prescribed to teenagers with acne, for years at a time (In my teens, a doc put me on antibiotics daily for 2 years. Another doc told me that the first doc was an idiot, but that this idiocy was common, and pointed me to probiotics. This was the event in my life, although it may seem minor, that led me to start reading about health and nutrition.)
When pumped into livestock to "counteract" their filthy living conditions.

[votoshka]

Antibiotics DEFINITELY have their place. However, in the past especially, doctors would prescribe them for everything, which of course led to the surge in antibiotic resistant bacteria etc. A lot of people also have ongoing problems because they had too much antibiotic use as kids.

Where they are good... well my daughter got really bad ear infections, she had them as a baby, then got grommets and they went away for a few years, but came back a couple of years ago. Now, before she had the surgery, she got some really effective antibiotic drops from one doctor. They were the ONLY type that worked, but cost quite a bit (not on the PBS I don't think...).

Then a couple of years ago she got these bad ear infections, and I couldn't remember the name of the drops she had. All I know is I TOLD the doctors that regular antibiotics didn't work. They still prescribed them and she STILL had ear infections. So I looked into natural methods, including tea tree oil and colloidal silver, which can both be effective. However, I found that they only really suppressed the infection and didn't really cure it. I didn't want to keep dosing her with antibiotics that were useless for her infection, and were killing off her natural bacterial flora etc, which is why I went the natural route.

However, eventually I bit the bullet, took her to another doctor, and told him about the issues I'd had, AND he recognised the need for the GOOD antibiotics. (It turns out that her problem was that after her grommets had fallen out, in one ear the hole in her eardrum hadn't healed itself and she was getting serious inner ear infections as a result). So yeah, we used the strong antibiotics again, BANG the ear infection cleared up.

So, yeah, I think antibiotics CAN be good, but they need to be used carefully. I was so annoyed with all the doctors that kept prescribing antibiotics that did nothing for my daughter's ear infection, especially when I TOLD them that normal antibiotics just don't work. However, I can also see that natural methods don't always work either.

So my opinion is take antibiotics if you NEED them. If whatever you have will probably resolve itself in a few days without medication, then don't take it. If whatever you have needs antibiotics, then of course, they're necessary.

When in doubt a doctor should test and get a swab for whatever bacteria is present. Some will respond to some antibiotics and not others. If whatever you've got is purely viral, antibiotics will do nothing.

Most illnesses I pretty much just ride out. I think ultimately if you can it's far better for your body!

[sk8joyful]

Originally Posted by Curious cat

In my experience, i find doctors are too quick to prescribe antibiotics

My son was sick recently and was prescribed his first antibiotics (he is only a little over a year old), which sparked my interest in antibiotics. My research is relatively new, but it has lead me to some interesting issues surrounding its overuse, antibiotic resistance, as well as possible adverse effects on humans consuming livestock that are pumped with antibotics.

What are your thoughts on antibiotics?

ANTI-biotics have their place, WHEN -
1. Cultures are done confirming IF adverse bacteria are present.
+
2. Sensitivity-tests are done, confirming which ANTIbiotics actually kill 90% of those bacteria, such that the Host is able to kill the rest.

When both of these Tests are done, then Antibiotics are appropriate, & can be life-saving

Otherwise, you are asking for (resistant SUPER-bugs) to rule us.

[stanmrak]

Everyone should realize that antibiotics wipe out all the good bacteria in your gut. Always take probiotics after a round of antibiotics.

There seems to be a connection between generally poor gut health in the population and the increasing incidence of autoimmune diseases and autism (there's a direct pipeline between your gut and your brain, and autistic kids often have gut issues). This coincides with an ever-increasing use of antiobiotics, and some researchers are studying the possibility that even one-time use may cause irreparable harm to your gut health.

[noone]

have you guys heard of C-diff. antibiotics cause this problem. i have a very bad tooth abscess and i would rather take motrin and tylenol for the pain than to take antibiotics and have stomach problems.

[ssandra]

Only about a year ago here in Mexico did they make it illegal to buy anti-biotics over the counter.

I think it was a very good move.

In the Netherlands, whenever I needed them (only a few times, for an bladder infection and once for a lung infection and another time for a throat infection) the doctor always looked in his "big book of antibiotics" to see which one I needed.

It was a surprise for me to realize that here in Mexico they just give you any type......

[stanmrak]

It appears that overuse of antibiotics also contributes to obesity:

Antibiotics Treatment May Be a Main Cause of Obesity
Dr. Martin Blaser, a professor of microbiology at New York University Langone Medical Center, suggests that antibiotics may permanently alter your gut bacteria and leads to increased appetite and body mass index (BMI).

1. Antibiotics may permanently alter your gut bacteria and interfere with important hunger hormones secreted by your stomach, leading to increased appetite and body fat.
2. Antibiotics may lead to increases in ghrelin, the hunger hormone, and leptin, which controls the way your body stores fat.
3. Mice fed antibiotics (in dosages similar to those given to children for throat or ear infections) had significant increases in body fat despite their diets remaining unchanged.

About 70 percent of all the antibiotics produced are used in agriculture -- not necessarily to fight disease, but rather to promote weight gain.

[Curious cat]

Thank you all for your input and sharing your thoughs.

Stanmark, it sounds like a really interesting article, i will have to read it.

[votoshka]

Originally Posted by noone

have you guys heard of C-diff. antibiotics cause this problem. i have a very bad tooth abscess and i would rather take motrin and tylenol for the pain than to take antibiotics and have stomach problems.

My question is, what are you taking to cure the infection? A tooth abscess is nasty and potentially dangerous, and for something like that I think antibiotics is a good idea!

[Curious cat]

Originally Posted by noone

have you guys heard of C-diff. antibiotics cause this problem. i have a very bad tooth abscess and i would rather take motrin and tylenol for the pain than to take antibiotics and have stomach problems.

Oh wow, i just looked up tooth abscess and it sounds pretty serious. I've only read from one website, but it sounds as though this type of infection is something that will not go away quietly.

Only you and your doctor or dentist can decide what is the best option for you, but please don't sit on this. If the infection spreads it can become a whole new level of nasty for you.

I wish you a speedy and pain free recovery