by Peter Melamed, PhD
The medical statistics shows, 5-35% of patients after taking antibiotics have antibiotic-associated chronic diarrhea. These numbers are different, and they depend upon many things including the type of antibiotic and duration of treatment, preexisting condition, age, the entire health of the person.
Chronic diarrhea means, diarrhea continues more than two weeks and the person has three or more liquid stools daily. Patients with decreased immunity more often suffer from chronic diarrhea after antibiotics. Mostly, antibiotic-associated chronic diarrhea strikes elderly, small children and people after chemotherapy, radiation, after some medications, alcohol and drugs addicts, etc
The time-spend in the hospital is another risk factor. Each week in the hospital and taking broad-spectrum antibiotics, may raise the risk for antibiotic-associated chronic diarrhea that is caused by microorganism-Clostridium difficile. Doctors and researchers are unanimous that Clostridium difficile occurs mostly after taking of the broad-spectrum antibiotics. The 2013 report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that Clostridium difficile is already a major clinical threat for public health. Half of million Americans suffer from Clostridium difficile. It causes 30 thousand deaths annually. This is truly a superbug.
Some people experience mild diarrhea after antibiotics. Some doctors call it as IBS-Irritable Bowel Syndrome after antibiotics.
What does take place after the use of antibiotics and why does diarrhea occur?
Antibiotics are serious weapon against harmful microbes. On the other hand, antibiotics are a double-edged sword; they can safe health and life, but they can cause severe side effects. First, the antibiotics do not exterminate all microbes. Some of the strong dangerous microorganisms stay alive that leads to antibiotic resistant species. Second, the antibiotics indiscriminately kill bacteria, both good, beneficial and bad, harmful. Antibiotics kill gentle friendly intestinal flora first. Third, the antibiotics weaken the immune system or can cause allergic reactions. All of the above may concern to the chronic diarrhea.
The broad-spectrum antibiotics eradicate friendly intestinal flora. These bacteria are called friendly because “enemy of my enemy is my friend”. The friendly intestinal flora is a vital organ of the human body. The friendly bacteria aid to digest the food and boost the immune system. It also produces vitamins and has anticancer properties, it regulate cholesterol, remove toxins, control mood and weight, etc. Without the good bacteria, human being loses these vital functions.
What is the most critical is that friendly intestinal flora is the body’s strong guard against harmful, bad bacteria, yeasts, viruses, and parasites. They compete with them for food and place to live. The friendly intestinal flora controls the growth of so-called opportunistic infection. Opportunistic infections are microbes, Candida-yeast, parasites, etc. They grow when they have the opportunity to grow; usually it happens when antibiotics kill a friendly flora. When antibiotics destroy beneficial bacteria, opportunistic infections easy take over the gastrointestinal tract. The bad, harmful bacteria, yeasts, viruses, and parasites cause countless damages. They eat our foods leading to many deficiencies of the vital nutrients; produce extremely dangerous toxins. They irritate gut’s walls and provoke inflammation and porous gut-leaky gut syndrome. Thus, non-digested food, toxins, and harmful microorganisms leak through the gut’s wall into the blood stream, poison blood, lymph, and nervous, immune, hormonal, cardiovascular systems. Bad bacteria cause constant irritation, fermentation, and inflammation in the large intestine that lead to chronic diarrhea. In some people, severe inflammation of colon requires intensive care and surgeries. Sadly, death rate from this disease increases year by year in the US.
There is a medical paradox now. The antibiotics are a common cause of chronic diarrhea; on the other hand, the antibiotics are a standard treatment for Clostridium difficile diarrhea caused by the antibiotics. For now, the bacteria have an advantage. Prolong using of the antibiotics causes the bad, unhealthy bacteria form antibiotic resistant strain.
Nowadays, the situation is critical. The common way “find and destroy” by the broad-spectrum antibiotics in case of antibiotic-associated chronic diarrhea does not work properly for everybody. Nevertheless, there is another way. In Biotherapy Alternative Medicine Clinic, we help people to restore the natural mechanisms that protect the gastrointestinal tract from overgrowth of the opportunistic infection.
Natural, non-drug therapies can repair the harms from antibiotics and re-establish the natural processes that keep our intestines from harmful bacteria, yeast, and parasites.
How does the human body naturally keep intestines from the dangerous invaders?
- First gate is stomach, where stomach acid destroys harmful bacteria and yeasts, stops them to enter the small intestine. Contrary, low acidity in the stomach makes this gate open. Please read here
- Next defense is the pancreas. The pancreatic digestive enzymes digest not only our foods but also all harmful bacteria. As I medically explain in my EBook “Healthy Pancreas, Healthy You”, whole body acidity and consequent acidity of bile and pancreatic juice disable this antibacterial action; thus, SIBO-small intestine bacterial overgrowth occurs. Gas, bloating, abdominal pains and cramps, diarrhea are common symptoms of SIBO
- Third critical factor that prevents harmful bacteria to adhere to the gut’s wall is washing out action in the small intestine. 35-50 cups per day of the blend of the saliva, stomach secretion, bile, pancreatic and intestinal juices, make a huge full-flowing river that wipe out the harmful bacteria and prevent colonization into the small intestines’ walls
- There are various special muscle valves (sphincters) through all way of the GI tract. They stop back moving-reflux. For instance, ileocecal valve prevents dirty stuff from the large intestine with bacteria and yeasts get back into the small intestine
- The gastrointestinal tract is also a key part of the immune system. The immune system must work hard to prevent harmful bacteria from entering into lymph and blood
- The last and the most essential way to keep harmful bacteria in check is friendly intestinal flora
Chronic diarrhea after antibiotics causes deficiency of the vital nutrients, dehydration, internal toxicity that makes all these protective mechanisms weak. Therefore, there is no magic bullet for the chronic antibiotic-associated diarrhea.
Biotherapy alternative medicine focuses on the root of the problem, and can restore natural defense mechanism that keeps the digestive system healthy. In the Biotherapy Clinic, we do it every day. Some of these natural, non-drugs, alternative approaches are:
- Whole body cleansing with colon hydrotherapy and restoration of the friendly intestinal flora
- Healing diet for chronic diarrhea
- Drinking healing mineral water prepared from genuine Karlovy Vary thermal spring salt
- Herbal Medicine
- Nutritional supplementation
- Acupuncture and more
Contrary to popular believes, drinking yogurt or taking low quality of probiotics will not help to restore the friendly intestinal flora.
The best analogy with the gastrointestinal tract after using of antibiotics is abandoned, full of weeds farmers’ fields. Each farmer knows that the field needs to be well prepared to grow a crop. The same occurs in the inflamed, toxic colon full of the harmful bacteria, yeasts, and parasites. Friendly intestinal flora simply does not have enough places to live. Hence, restoration of the friendly intestinal flora requires time, life-style changes, and full cooperation between patient and knowledgeable holistic professional to restore all these natural mechanisms and relieve the chronic antibiotic-associated diarrhea. In the chronic diarrhea causing by antibiotics, the wise idea is to remove the colonies of the bad bacteria, yeast, and parasites and their toxins by flushing the colon with clean and purify water by colon hydrotherapy. This makes a healthy environment for multiplying the beneficial bacteria in the colon.
For many Americans, even for medical professionals, healing mineral water is unknown. Contrary, European doctors often recommend drinking of the healing mineral water especially for digestive and metabolic disorders. Water from hot mineral spring in small Czech town-Karlovy Vary has been used for many centuries. For people, who could not visit this place, geyser water was vaporized there to make genuine Karlovy Vary thermal spring salt for 250 years.
Dissolving genuine Karlovy Vary thermal spring salt in the plain water gives the possibility to use this healing water at home. Karlovy Vary healing mineral water is well researched by European doctors.
Minerals, bicarbonate, and trace elements and water by itself are beneficial for persons with chronic diarrhea.
Water is natural alkalizing agent; so it improves function of the stomach, liver, and pancreas. More information how acidity kills pancreas and liver and damages digestion can be found in my articles and EBook “Healthy Pancreas, Healthy You”. Karlovy Vary healing mineral water promotes the growth of the beneficial bacteria in the intestines, diminishes irritation and inflammation, normalizes stool in case of chronic diarrhea.
For many people who recognize that acupuncture is right for lower back pain can be surprised that millions of people all over the world have used this ancient system for various digestive disorders including chronic diarrhea.
Our ancestors purchased the spices and spices herbs by price of gold. They knew that spices not only made better the taste of the foods, but also prevented diarrhea (food poisons). It is possible that spices save humanity from widespread gastrointestinal diseases. It is probable that the therapeutic value of the spices depends upon their unique ability to destroy harmful bacteria and maintain friendly intestinal flora. The practical evidence of using herbs in the case of chronic diarrhea in the Biotherapy Alternative Medicine Clinic supports this idea.
Chronic diarrhea reduces the capacity of minerals, trace elements, vitamins, essential fatty and amino acids. This deficiency tweaks the body defense mechanisms, causes symptoms, which are very far from colon.
Depression, anxiety, fatigue, insomnia, low blood pressure, headache, dizziness, joint pain, skin disorders, sinusitis are some of few. Without proper correction, these symptoms lead to additional treatments and surgeries.
Even mild chronic diarrhea after antibiotics is not a nasty, annoying problem when person simply just look often for the bathrooms. It can be beginning of the chain that is looking as
antibiotics→dysbiosis (Candida-yeast overgrowth, SIBO-Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth) →chronic irritation and inflammation in the colon→colon cancer.
If you suffer from chronic diarrhea after antibiotics, do not get used to it. Do not get used to stomach cramps, frequent, urgent stools, knowing all available restrooms around on your way, wearing diapers, etc. Do not get used to weakness, anxiety, depression, and many other symptoms, which accompany chronic antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Do not use to this. Do not live with it. It can be reversed by natural, non-drug methods of the alternative medicine.
