The discovery of various antibiotics that treat diseases caused by different types of bacteria is indeed an impressive result in medical science. However, these medications have corresponding side effects, which in most cases are portable, but can sometimes become too destructive, especially for those who are under treatment with a chronic antibiotic. One of the side effects that have become a huge public health problem with antibiotics is antibiotic diarrhea (AAD).
Antibiotic-related diarrhea is manifested in loose bowel movements at least four times a day, which will be better after the end of antibiotic treatment. This may not be a serious problem for people who are prescribed to take antibiotics only for a week or for a short time to treat an infection. But it will definitely make people with chronic antibiotic treatment feel sick. In addition, persistent diarrhea can lead to dehydration. That is why medical researchers are completing research to reduce the problem of AAD using probiotics.
Probiotics are part of the human natural microflora. They are good microbes that enhance the protective functions of the immune system, and they keep a healthy gut. They are usually found in the gastrointestinal tract (intestine), so that they prevent the penetration of pathogens into the microenvironment; thereby protecting the body against related diseases such as intestinal infection. However, several studies have found that antibiotics can remove probiotics along with targeted pathogenic (pathogenic) microbes during antibiotic treatment. Thus, the researchers came up with the idea of increasing the microflora by taking a probiotic supplement.
Moreover, researchers from California published a remarkable conclusion about a clinical study that they conducted. Subjects were randomly selected and received a probiotic supplement when they continued antibiotic treatment, while other patients were given a placebo. As published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study emphasized that consumption of probiotics can significantly reduce the incidence of diarrhea associated with antibiotics among patients taking an antibiotic. However, the researchers could not identify a probiotic microorganism that would effectively treat or prevent AAD because they used several types of probiotics.
Indeed, conclusions about the relationship between probiotics and antibiotics have significant implications for human health. One concerns the careless use of antibiotics. Sometimes people can purchase over-the-counter antibiotics to treat their illness. Please note that there are diseases that cause viruses, fungi and protozoa that cannot be treated with antibiotics. Antibiotic therapy is only effective in treating a bacterial infection. Therefore, before taking any medication, proper medical consultation is necessary. Another consequence is that the consumption of probiotics can be used to treat or prevent the side effects of antibiotics, such as diarrhea associated with antibiotics, especially when this anti-infective drug is the agent of choice for a particular disease.
In general, each medication has corresponding side effects. Some are tolerant, while others may be exhausting, but manageable. Like AAD, this is one of the side effects of using antibiotics, but this does not mean that antibiotics are not safe for health. As mentioned earlier, this side effect can be controlled by taking probiotic products. In addition, decades have passed, and antibiotic treatment has clear evidence of its effectiveness.
This indicates that taking medications, such as an antibiotic, can lead to fewer side effects when we integrate a probiotic supplement during the course of treatment. Both antibiotics and probiotics have the same value for human health.
