A friend recently emailed me the following question: Can I start taking a pro-biotic supplement while I’m taking an anti-biotic? Or is that going to undermine the effectiveness of the anti-biotic? Or will the anti-biotic just kill the pro-biotics anyway?
This is a common question and misconception. My answer: Take the pro-biotic. This same situation came up with one of my patients last week. They developed a strep throat infection and needed to go to work, and didn’t have the time or interest in taking a homeopath or herbs. So I recommended he take an anti-biotic so as not to risk missing work or giving the infection to his co-workers, and I also recommended that he immediately go on a pro-biotic.
(By the way, for those of you who are not familiar with the term pro-biotics, this refers to a wide spectrum of supplements meant to help your gut – your digestive tract – work more efficiently. The contents of these supplements naturally occurs in your gut, but are often in short supply, especially after the use of an antibiotic. Some such pro-biotics include the following: L. acidophilus, Bifidus, L. plantarum, among other “good” bacteria.)
I always also recommend that you keep up the pro-biotic for a month or so after stopping the antibiotic. It’s actually good to take pro-biotics one a day anyhow, to keep both the immune system and the digestive system, both closely connected, in good overall shape.
If the problem continues, and the reason you had to take the antibiotic doesn’t get better, even after the recommended dose of antibiotics, try to remember that there are great homeopathics and/or herbal formulas that are sometimes even more effective than antibiotics. Just ask, and we can get you on the appropriate regimen.
In the meantime, while you are on the anti-biotic, you should also always be on immunity supplements in order to build the immune system, since the antibiotic only kills, and doesn’t in any way support the immune system. So try the following regimen, in conjunction with the antibiotics: Vitamin C, Vitamin E, beta carotene, astragalus, shitake mushroom formula, echinecea and golden seal, and any others you already know about.
Specific homeopathics must be chosen based on the specific type of infection, and the causes of the infection, and are too numerous to generalize in this article.