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It
is not disputed by anyone in the medical field that
antibiotics don’t help fight the common cold and/or flu
in the large majority of cases. This is simply because
antibiotics only kill bacteria, but have absolutely no
effect on viruses. Furthermore, approximately 95% of
cols/flues are viral. This means that if you have a
viral cold or flu and take antibiotics, the duration and
severity of your cold/flu will not change at all. What
will happen are two things: (1) you will kill off many
of the good bacteria in your large intestines. This can
lead to overgrowth of Candida, yeast infections, poor
digestion, diarrhea, and other related health problems
such as allergies. (2) You will become resistant to
antibiotics so that when you really need them they may
not work for you.
In
the 1970’s almost 100% of throat infections caused by
the streptococcus bacteria were susceptible to
penicillin. By 1999 this number dropped down to about
40%. Of course appropriate use of antibiotics is
advisable. For example, people with severely
compromised immune systems (ex. AIDS) are at risk of
secondary bacterial infections following viral ones.
Antibiotics can prevent the onset of a secondary
bacterial infection when one has a cold and/or flu, but
so can the use of natural remedies that boost the immune
system.
Probably the two most common reasons that antibiotics
are prescribed are to appease patients and/or the fear
of missing an underlying bacterial infection. Neither
of these approaches is in the best interests of the
patients in the long run. However, it is your
responsibility to be aware of the limitations of
antibiotics and make informed opinions. |