Antibiotics are a major breakthrough in the world's medical industry and in every person's life, it is inevitable that there will be times when people need to use this drug. However, the arbitrary and indiscriminate use of antibiotics by people has led to the situation of pathogens becoming resistant to antibiotics. At the same time, they can cause gastrointestinal adverse reactions that the user does not anticipate. When using antibiotics without control, without a doctor's prescription, they can cause side effects such as nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite... but often the most worrying is the reaction. diarrhea response; In some cases, it is quite severe because antibiotics can cause inflammation of the small intestine, the large intestine with a pseudomembranous membrane.
Antibiotics can directly stimulate the lining of the small and large intestines to increase mucus secretion and generate pseudomembranous membranes. The broad-spectrum antibacterial action of antibiotics upsets bacteria only in the gut, killing both necessary environmental bacteria in the large intestine and causing dysbacteriosis. Strong antibiotics have the effect of killing most of the pathogenic bacteria, and the bacteria that exist are strains that have strong resistance to those antibiotics, so it will be very difficult to destroy them; especially in cases of severe diarrhea.
The gut always contains a lot of beneficial bacteria with many different species. Normally, these bacteria always maintain a balance to ensure the body's digestive process, help absorb nutrients, eliminate waste and toxic substances, and prevent disease-causing bacteria in the body. intestinal tract. Meanwhile, antibiotics are extremely powerful drugs, even when using antibiotics at the lowest concentration can kill and inhibit the growth of bacteria. Benign bacteria in the intestines are also affected by antibiotics, especially when the patient takes high doses of antibiotics, taking antibiotics for a long time. The balance in the intestinal tract is therefore disrupted, promoting disease-causing bacteria already hidden in the digestive system and new bacteria entering, leading to digestive disorders after taking antibiotics.
There are many different classes of antibiotics. Each group has its own brand of drugs. If you want to use an antibiotic, you need to know what group it belongs to and know how much of an effect that antibiotic has. However, in the process of eliminating the infection, antibiotics not only kill the harmful bacteria but also kill the beneficial bacteria, causing an imbalance between the bacteria. This makes the body more susceptible to infection and disease. In addition, frequent use of antibiotics also promotes the introduction of resistant bacteria. So, limit your use of antibiotics unless your illness really needs them.
Most cases of antibiotic-associated digestive disorders have a very mild course. Most patients will have bowel movements, loose stools, and bowel movements many times a day. It is very rare that the patient has a fever. These symptoms will quickly disappear immediately after stopping antibiotics or about 1-2 days after stopping antibiotics. If the patient has a bowel movement accompanied by fever, vomiting or abdominal pain, the severity of the diarrhea is likely to be a digestive disorder due to an infection. It is necessary to distinguish these two cases in order to take action when necessary.
To handle digestive disorders caused by antibiotic use, you should drink a lot of water, coconut water, juice, water spinach broth; avoid carbonated drinks, alcohol, coffee, tea... as they can make symptoms worse; focus on soft, light, easy-to-digest foods like rice, potatoes, yogurt, and bananas. You should also try eating several small meals throughout the day instead of 2 or 3 large meals. Smaller portions are easier to digest; Avoid irritating or greasy foods that can make symptoms worse.
In addition, using probiotics during antibiotic treatment is one of the most effective and safe methods to help rebalance the intestinal flora. However, choosing the right type of probiotic and how to use it should be kept in mind. Most common probiotics contain only the live form of bacteria, and are often lost a lot when passing through the highly acidic environment of the stomach and during storage. Meanwhile, in the form of spores - another life form of bacteria, B.clausii spores with a thick membrane around them help them survive the acidic environment of the stomach, migrate to the intestines and develop into gums. bacteria. In order for probiotics to have a high therapeutic effect, it is recommended to alternate between taking antibiotics or taking them more than 2 hours after taking antibiotics.