Little Known Facts About Antibiotics
Antibiotics started saving lives back in 1928 when Alexander Fleming discovered Penicillin (technically a mold!)
BUT, amazingly enough, traces of tetracycline have been found in human skeletal remains from ancient Sudanese Nubia dating back to 350-550 CE!! Scientists have also discovered traces in bones of ancient Roman remains! Pretty amazing!
Key thing to remember-> antibiotics only kill bacteria even though they are often prescribed for viral or fungal infections (like the common cold or sinus infections!)
They negatively impact your immune system & microbiome for years later.
Studies have linked the use of them in infancy to asthma, obesity, & IBD.
Non-organic meat, dairy & fish are major sources of antibiotics.
Each year, 2.8 million people acquire antibiotics-resistant bacterial infections & 35,000 people die as a result.
Healthcare costs associated with this amount to $20 BILLION each year alone in the U.S.
A 2014 study showed if nothing is done to curb antibiotic misuse, resistance bacteria will kill more than 20 million people each year- that is less than who die from cancer!
Unfortunately they are prescribed WAY TOO OFTEN & many times used as a precautionary measure to prevent infections when they should only be used in medical emergencies.
Antibiotics are technically a form of chemotherapy since they kill both good & bad bacteria.
Not only are they over prescribed in medical offices, but they are even more so a problem for our livestock & our produce with the spraying of glyphosate, aka "roundup".
Roundup (owned by Bayer) has been taken to court & lost a massive case because one of their farmers was told the product was harmless when not long after he developed cancer.
Although you may have only completed one cycle of antibiotics, that's enough to change your microbiome for two years or more. Why is this a problem?
Our immune system is completely dependent upon the health of our gut.
Our hormonal system is completely dependent on the health of our gut.
Our neurological system is completely dependent on the health of our gut.
See the connection?
How long does it take to repair this damage?
Of course that is based on individual basis & depends on how long you took antibiotics. For acute exposure anticipate a 1-3 months. For more chronic exposure it can be 6 months or more depending on other co-infections, parasites, etc, that you may have.
It is a complete disservice to patients when many doctors do not inform their patients that they will need to replenish the good bacteria afterwards, or how you are at a higher risk for developing UTI, C-Diff or H-pylori after completing antibiotics.
If you are in this boat, I'm here to help! Fortunately our bodies are super resilient & it is possible to recover from even long term antibiotic use with the right approach.