Why Antibiotics Are Making Us Sicker In The Long Run?
- Sep 28, 2022
- 6 min read
Updated: Feb 21, 2024
Written by: Emanuela Visone, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
I have been working with so many clients lately to help them restore their health naturally and one thing I noticed was a pattern. Does this sound like it could be you?
The pattern I saw was that many of them were given antibiotics as a child whenever they were sick and knowing how often that can happen when we are a child and in school, it can be pretty often. Many of them are now suffering terribly from digestive issues, overgrowths of candida and other microbes. One week of antibiotics kills not millions but trillions of good bacteria completely crimpling our immune systems. We were raised to think that when we have a sore throat or cough, the first thing is to take a round of antibiotics. Not knowing how much damage it was causing in the long run.
Almost any antibiotic administration by mouth can severely alter the balance and pattern of the intestinal flora. This will vary from one medication to another depending upon the spectrum of the drug (the range of organisms which are sensitive to it) and to the concentration of the antibiotic when it reaches the bowel.
What are the risk factors of taking antibiotics?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that approximately half of the 100 million antibiotic prescriptions written each year in the United States are unnecessary. They are not effective treatments for the common cold, flu or other viral infections, and taking them when they are not needed can be harmful in two ways.
1: All medicines come with risks. Antibiotics also kill the good bacteria in your body that promote health-so taking them for the wrong illness means you get all the harm with none of the benefit.
2: The more an antibiotic is used, the more opportunities the bacteria have to learn to recognize and defend against this cure (antibiotic resistance). Antibiotics can save your life but taking antibiotics when they are not truly needed increases the risk that these treatments will no longer be effective when people really do need them. So, every instance of misuse ends up threatening the health of everyone.
Antibiotic resistance is a major public health issue and can result in longer hospital stays and an increase in the number of patients who die because their disease becomes more difficult to treat. There is also a significant cost to caring for these patients. It costs more than $5 billion annually to treat patients with antibiotic-resistant infections. According to the CDC, antibiotic resistance costs our country four times that in excess health care costs, with people spending 8 million more days in the hospital than they otherwise would.
Why should you become an educated consumer before taking antibiotics?
Some antibiotics can cause serious adverse reactions that may be life-threatening (for example, it can alter your heart rate, severely impair your liver and kidneys. Antibiotics are the second most common cause of anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction with rapid onset that affects the entire body (food allergies are the most common). Liver damage is another possible serious consequence. Antibiotics can even be deadly; for example, the Z-Pak is a very popular antibiotic that can cause fatal side effects, especially for the elderly and people with heart problems. Less serious and more common reactions include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and skin rash. It is important to know these risks before using a new drug, and it is a good reason a natural alternative like for example, probiotics and garlic which is a natural antibiotic.
Physicians, patients, and families should read all labels, inserts, and warnings to learn about these risks. Unfortunately, not all physicians do so, and that’s why patients must read the labels themselves. Do your research and read up on the serious side effects of antibiotics.
How does it destroy our natural defense systems?
The reduction in total populations of the flora caused by antibiotics can be dramatic. This fact is used in treating people before abdominal surgery in order to minimize the likelihood of post-operative sepsis. Studies at the Veterans Administration Hospitals in the USA show that the use of antibiotics before a surgery, results in both aerobic and anaerobic bacterial levels dropping to between 20 and 25 per cent of the original levels. This leads to a reduction in post-operative wound infection-only 9 percent of patients contract infections compared with 35 percent of those not receiving antibiotics of this type.
That is the positive side of the antibiotics. Unfortunately, the ecological vacuum created by the indiscriminate slaughter of friendly bacteria is often rapidly filled by potentially pathogenic (disease-causing) micro-organisms.
Examples of such rapid repopulation are numerous and include an overgrowth syndrome called Pseudomembranous enterocolitis caused by the organism Clostridium difidile, a notorious opportunist which populates the large intestine during treatment with antibiotics. The effect of the toxins produced by this unpleasant interloper is to destroy the surface of the colon, producing ulceration and consequent symptoms of bloody diarrhea, pain, and catastrophic weight loss, etc.
Similar symptoms result when the population of another potential pathogen, Staphylococcus aureus, explodes and produces its own version of enterocolitis, after the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics.
What is a super infection that follows the use of antibiotics?
A phenomenon known as super-infection may follow the use of antibiotics. First, the strains of friendly flora which are sensitive to the antibiotic die and there is a proliferation into this vacuum of micro-organisms which are resistant to the drug. These may be bacteria or yeasts already living in the bowel, albeit in controlled quantities, or they may be newcomers implanted from the environment.
The micro-organisms most involved in super-infection, which can occur in almost any region or organ of the body, following antibiotic treatment, include Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas and Proteus species; Influenza bacillus, and Candida albicans.
Candida albicans deserve mention since a wide range of symptoms are possible as a result of its rapid overgrowth following antibiotic treatment. These include inflammation of the tongue (glossitis) and mouth (stomatitis), vaginitis and proctitis (inflammation of the rectum) as well as a range of mento-emotional symptoms such as anxiety, irritability and depression. Researchers such as Dr. Orion Truss and Dr. William Crooke in the USA have also shown that multiple allergies, digestive symptoms (bloating, heartburn, constipation, diarrhea etc.), cystitis, premenstrual syndrome, fatigue, acne and other skin problems all may relate to yeast overgrowth.
The disturbance of the bowel’s ecology in this manner has a marked effect in lowering local and general immune function, thus predisposing the individual to greater infection, nutritional deficiencies, and a wide range of symptoms. Clearly this cannot be considered biologically normal. Any assistance the use of the friendly bacteria supplement might offer would be of excellent value.
Why give your body the right environment to self-heal?
Healing the body naturally by improving your diet and starting on the whole food supplements will result in complete healing in 100% of the degenerative conditions cases. This is because with diet and wholefood supplements you have addressed the causes of your health challenge and you didn’t just mask the symptoms with chemical toxins.
I also recommend working with natural foods that can fight germs as well as probiotics that have no side effects. Besides, every time you stop the antibiotic, guess what, the negative symptoms will all come back worse than before. Please stay the natural course to heal.
If you’d like to learn more, I’d be happy to schedule a zoom meeting or you email me at embodyvitalityconsulting@gmail.com. You can also call me on 917-597-3512. My book Healing Through Nature’s Medicine, A Story of Hope will also give you a step-by-step guide on how to choose the best foods on earth for your body.
Emanuela Visone, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Emanuela is a leading expert in restoring health and a Master Transformational, Health, and life coach. After 20yrs recruiting in the finance industry, she discovered her true calling for naturopathy and helping people and their pets throughout the US. The value she provides her clients has put them in a position to gain better health and live a more fulfilling life. Having restored her own health, Emanuela is excited to share her victory and help others do the same, from thyroid conditions, shrinking nodules, blood pressure, hormones, and much more. This inspired her to write her first book, “Healing Through Nature’s Medicine,” A Story of Hope. Having restored her St. Barnard’s health as well, Emanuela coaches many pet owners on how to become their own best healer. She loves spending time with her family and friends, the outdoors, and her deepest passion is helping others transform their health.
