Be weary of antibiotics? Really? Many people are surprised when we talk about antibiotics and the dangers associated with them. Yes, they have saved many lives in the past and was a critical discovery in a time of desperate need.

Antibiotics literally mean “against (anti) bacteria.” The concept behind antibiotics is to destroy bacteria. It makes sense and seems simple. It should be a great idea for sickness and ear infections right? Wrong.

Simple Truth

70% of our immune lives in the gut, which is made of mostly bacteria. When an antibiotic enters the body it kills all the bacteria it can, which unfortunately means that it will kill off good, healthy gut bacteria along with it. This good and healthy gut bacteria lays the foundation for our immune system. Without this good healthy bacteria our immune system is left vulnerable to another attack. This is explains why many people who have overused antibiotics have poor immunity and get sick more often.

By using antibiotics more frequently it doesn’t allow your immune system to work and strengthen. It’s like going to the gym to get stronger, but overtime you want to lift a weight, someone else picks it up for you. You don’t get any stronger and neither does our immune system.

Ear Infections

Ear infections are far and away the most overly prescribed diagnosis for children. in 2007 the American Academy of Pediatrics convened to discuss the treatment of ear infections with antibiotics. The report showed that there was no significant difference between patients who used antibiotics versus the placebo. It was then decided by the American Academy of Pediatrics that the new approach should be “watch and wait.” Essentially saying let it run it’s course. More evidence has been shown to support that ear infections may be predominately viral in nature.

The Cold/Flu Season

We get asked by parents often if antibiotics are a good choice for the flu or cold. My answer is no. Of course there are rare, life threatening situations that call for antibiotics. Common colds and flus most often times do not qualify. Most often children and adults will recover without issue. Using antibiotics for the short term seem like a good idea to recover quicker, but the long term effects may leave you in a worse place than you were before. It could leave you more vulnerable to getting sick and keep you from recovering as quickly as you would like.

What If I’ve Already Taken Antibiotics

Probiotics are your best bet here. There are plenty of great products out there at Whole Foods or Sprouts that are soil based and great. In order to recover from antibiotics, we need a good probiotic to start adding some healthy gut bacteria back into our system. Make sure to rotate between brands to make sure you are getting adequate amounts of various strains of bacteria.

Help your body heal and adapt through Chiropractic care. Chiropractic helps reboot your gut and immune system so that you get sick less often and recover quicker.