Intestinal cleansing after antibiotics

Intestinal cleansing after antibiotics – a topic that is often asked about in my practice, both by existing patients and new inquiries. Questions after questions arise in this area and you read a lot on the Internet, some of which even contradict each other. So I thought, since intestinal rehabilitation and everything around it is my area of expertise, I thought I’d clarify things a little and write a blog article about it again after a long time.

Antibiotics – helper or enemy?

Antibiotics were created to save human lives. And this is exactly what they can and do – as long as it is a bacterial infection. Unfortunately, many doctors have started to fail to perform adequate diagnostics, which means that antibiotics are unfortunately still prescribed far too often for viral infections.

Antibiotics can also make sense here, as a viral infection is often followed by a bacterial superinfection. A weakened immune system then leads to a bacterial infection in addition to the viral infection. This can develop and develop thanks to the tilted environment in combination with the weakened immune system.

But in the end, the use of antibiotics is unfortunately not nearly as often useful and necessary as it is in reality. So, used correctly, an antibiotic can save lives and is useful and necessary. An antibiotic only becomes an “enemy” when it is supposedly used “incorrectly” or the side effects are not given sufficient consideration. And then we come to the topic of “intestinal rehabilitation after antibiotics”.

Effects and side effects of an antibiotic

An antibiotic is therefore used to kill bacteria. Of course it is used to kill bad bacteria. Unfortunately, the antibiotic does not have a brain with which it can distinguish between “bad” and “non-bad” bacteria. The unfortunate side effect of this is that “good” bacteria, which are present in the body and fulfill useful purposes and tasks, are also killed.

And it is this effect that makes intestinal cleansing after antibiotics necessary.

There are known side effects of the antibiotic, such as diarrhea or increased air in the stomach, nausea, abdominal pain and cramps. However, these are only the symptoms that occur relatively directly during or after taking antibiotics – the long-term effects are unfortunately neither mentioned here nor even considered.

An antibiotic kills healthy bacteria in our intestines. Depending on the choice of antibiotic, aerobic germs (bacteria living in oxygen) or anaerobic germs (bacteria living without oxygen) or bacteria from both groups are killed.

If an antibiotic is only taken for a short time – 3 days, for example – and this was the first time in a person’s entire life and, moreover, on a completely healthy human system, then it may be that the body, in particular the intestine, gets to grips with regulating the intestinal flora again.

However, if antibiotics are taken several times in a lifetime without any form of therapy to balance the intestinal flora, experience has shown that the intestine has little chance and becomes unbalanced.

The imbalance of bacteria

Sooner or later, this imbalance leads to a weakened immune system – i.e. a clear susceptibility to infections – as well as skin complaints in all forms and increasing sensitivity to all types of food. Year after year, less and less food is tolerated. A supposed lactose intolerance, fructose intolerance or sorbitol intolerance is then tested, which only arise on the basis of a weakened intestine.

Scientists and doctors have actually already given the symptoms that occur after taking antibiotics a name “AAD”, which means “antibiotic-associated diarrhea”. Unfortunately, it only refers to diarrhea and the medical profession has no other solution than to prescribe more antibiotics.

In fact, a connection has been recognized between the intake of antibiotics and an increased number of clostridia in the intestine, which naturally lead to diarrhoea and increased air in the stomach in this increased area. (You can find out more about clostridia in my blog article “Clostridia – the most common cause of flatulence and diarrhea“) And again, this only refers to the direct symptoms – not to mention the depressive moods, the effects on the hormone system and the tendency towards anxiety.

Well, to get to the good side – intestinal cleansing after antibiotics definitely makes sense. However, intestinal rehabilitation or treatment of the intestines is not only recommended AFTER antibiotics have been taken, but already parallel to taking antibiotics.

Intestinal cleansing after antibiotics? Better during it!

Ultimately, the point is that an antibiotic kills the good bacteria in the gut, which means that space is freed up and the “bad” bacteria have the chance to spread and multiply, which they do promptly and without further prompting. The aim now is to prevent the intestinal flora from becoming unbalanced by taking these “healthy” bacteria in parallel so that they are not reduced to such an extent in the first place.

Depending on which antibiotic is taken, it may also make sense to include certain aerobic germs. So if you are taking an antibiotic that also kills aerobic germs, it may make sense to keep an eye on enterococci (Symbioflor 1) or E. coli (Mutaflor, Symbioflor 2). It may then make sense to take one or the other product. However, you should carry out a stool test or consult a specialist for this.

As already mentioned, intestinal rehabilitation is therefore not only recommended after antibiotics, but in parallel with them. Specifically, this means that many companies that manufacture probiotics already have products that have been produced for use alongside antibiotics. Their names are usually supplemented by the small attribute “AAD”.

Here is a list of a few of them:

  • Probiotik Protect (Nutrimmun company)
  • Omni Biotic AAD
  • Lactobact AAD

These products are designed to contain a very large quantity and variety of different probiotic bacteria. These are used to regenerate, maintain and build up healthy intestinal mucosa and intestinal flora.

They should always be taken at least 2 hours after the antibiotic. They do not interfere with the effect of the antibiotic, rather the antibiotic interferes with the effect of the probiotics, as they are potentially killed by the antibiotic.

Recommendations on my part

  • Ask your doctor if he can determine exactly what type of bacteria your infection is.
  • If absolutely necessary, get a prescription for an antibiotic that directly targets these bacteria and is not a broad-spectrum antibiotic that targets everything.
  • The antibiotic should be taken for as short a time as possible and as long as necessary.
  • Take one of the probiotics mentioned above at the same time as the antibiotic.
  • You should continue to take the probiotic for at least 2-4 weeks after you stop taking the antibiotic.
  • If you experience digestive problems while taking the antibiotic and, above all, persistently afterwards, consult a specialist and have a comprehensive stool examination be carried out. This is because a bowel cleansing after antibiotics is usually necessary.