Antibiotics are often prescribed for everything from the common cold to a urinary tract infection. But could the medicine that is supposed to heal us actually make us sick? The truth is antibiotics can disrupt the balance of good and bad bacteria in our bodies. This can lead to a number of side effects, which can include UTIs and yeast infections. Before you take your next round of antibiotics, consider how they will affect your body and what can be done about the side effects.
Urinary Tract Infections
Urinary tract infections are the result of bacterial growth. While the bacteria could be the result of a compromised immune system, the problem could also be caused by an imbalance of good and bad bacteria. This imbalance is usually caused by antibiotic use. Antibiotics do not distinguish between good and bad bacteria. Therefore, bad bacteria can overgrow and result in a UTI. Anytime you are being treated with antibiotics it’s important to eat yogurt with live bacteria cultures or to take a probiotic. If you have frequent UTIs, long-term probiotic use may prove helpful.
Yeast Infections
One of the biggest side effects of antibiotics is yeast infections. The infections can affect both men and women, but women are much more likely to be at risk. Again, this is the result of the antibiotic causing an imbalance of good and bad bacteria. When this occurs, bacteria can grow and cause an infection in the vagina or mouth. Eating yogurt while on treatment can help prevent yeast infections. You want to make sure the yogurt is plain yogurt. The high level of sugar in many types of yogurt can defeat the purpose and feed the yeast. Yeast infections are known as acute Candida.
Chronic Candida
Should a yeast infection go untreated, or should you have an extremely weak immune system, the yeast can affect every part of the body. This is known as chronic Candida and often begins with antibiotic use. Overcoming chronic Candida requires a change in diet as well as the use of probiotics and antifungals. Should you experience the symptoms of chronic Candida, it is recommended that you see a naturopath. You can learn more about Candida on Dr. Eric Bakker’s Youtube channel.
Antibiotics may quickly treat a cold, but is it worth the risk? If your doctor prescribes antibiotics on a regular basis, you may want to consider finding a doctor that believes in natural medicine. If not, you need to make sure to protect yourself from the negative side effects of antibiotics by taking probiotics. Probiotics can be found in most drugstores in supplement form, but can also be obtained by eating plain yogurt that contains live active cultures.