Antibiotic Overdose

If you are the average person, you may have used antibiotics a few times this past year and most years since birth. Antibiotics are the most commonly prescribed medication and are universally used for everything from earaches to skin problems. The average six minute visit to the doctor has now produced a new medical craze-prophylactic antibiotics! Yes, the latest craze promoted by the pharmaceutical companies is to go beyond merely treating disease but to prescribe antibiotics "just in case" as a preventative measure.

A colleague of mine from the US once told me of a patient who kept her three year old son on such a program for over a year and was baffled that her child still suffered horrible earaches, bowel problems and unmanageable behavior. Her son had gone the usual HMO route of multiple doctor visits, trips to several specialists and now, as a last resort, was facing surgery for ear tubes. She found it inconceivable that simple dietary changes and getting away from the "cure-all" antibiotic could solve the problem. "Why didn't anyone tell me this before?" she wondered.

It's time we blew the whistle on antibiotic abuse. Anti-biotic means against-life. While it is true we may benefit from the killing off of a serious bacterial infection, it is also true that we rarely - RARELY - are faced with a serious bacterial infection. A strong immune system will resist even the AIDS virus, much less lowly bacterium. Antibiotics end up killing off helpful bacteria, the good guys, as well as the bad guys. When this happens, the bad guys take over. I often notice that within a few weeks of initial antibiotic use, bowel disorder symptoms like gas start to appear. With time, bloating, constipation, cramping, yeast, and fatigue and finally "leaky gut", food allergies, attention deficit, arthritis and chronic fatigue all can take hold. All this from antibiotic overuse? YES.

But there is something even worse looming on the horizon. Antibiotics are quickly becoming useless. As evidenced by major new stories covering this event over the last decade, it would appear we are on the verge of what may easily be called "the new plague" and "a return to the Middle Ages." There are virulent strains of bacteria that have become immune to all forms of antibiotics. This story has made nightly news in five US states where the insidious flesh-eating bacteria are on the loose. Texas alone has had 127 deaths in recent times.

(By the way, candida problems are still not officially recognized by MDs who tout the AMA party line. For example, the Florida chapter of the AMA threatened to pull the license of a local MD who was treating people for candida, saying it was an imaginary disease).*

Why are these creatures becoming immune? And the antibiotics working less and less? Because they are smart. They want to live just like you and me. So they adapt. They mutate. Remember those lines, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" and "as above, so below." These principles apply to all levels of life. A better option to antibiotic use is immune stimulation.

But aside from all this; aside from antibiotic overdose, immunity and irresponsible medicine, the very notion of antibiotic is flawed. It is built on fear principles that can not last (and therefore won't). It doesn't serve our highest good. The paradigm is crashing down. Which paradigm? The one that says you must look outside of yourself to be healed.

Many Americans have come to believe that a "professional," a skilled technician, like an MD is all they need to solve their health problems, and the "pros" spend a lot of time, energy and money in creating and maintaining this paradigm. Is that in your best interest? Must you look to someone else to tell you what your own heart has been saying all along, "Slow down, simplify, reduce stress, eat better."

Are you going to wait until you wrap your car around a tree or you are under the surgeon's knife before you finally start listening to your own inner voice?

There is nothing wrong with asking for help. There is nothing wrong with seeking more information and options. Sometimes you can't do it alone. That's where we of the healing arts can serve. You are the Lord and Master of your own life. If you aren't happy with the way things are in your life or health, you can get back on track naturally and safely.

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Last modified: May 11, 2001, Friday.