Antibiotics kill bacteria. There are billions of bacteria in our body. Why is it drug abuse if I just decide to toss in a few in my mouth, without being sick, since there would always be bacteria to kill
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Two big problems with that, one for you, and one for you and everyone else.
* Lots of those bacteria are helping you. Killing them is bad for you.
* Improper dosage and scheduling of antibiotic use is counterproductive. You’re basically applying selective pressure to create antibiotic resistant bacteria.
I think the fear is the bacteria will grow an immunity to the antibiotics or become resistant to them to the point where they will not work, especially when the person really needs them to work.
Because even though they’re called “Bacteria” it doesn’t mean they have only a negative impact on your body. Probiotics are good bacteria for example that help to break down various substances in your digestive system. Killing benevolent bacteria inside your body only brings downsides to your health.
the bacteria you’re talking about is called probiotic bacteria. they keep our bodies working well, they’re beneficial to us. like e. coli, they live in intestine to use nutrients that some bacteria needs to live or survive and by doing so they’re making it harder for more harmful bacteria to grow.
You just explained it, because there are billions of bacteria in our body. There are thousands of parts in your car do you think it would be a good idea to start randomly removing them? The bacteria are there for a reason and randomly removing them can be harmful
You’re using a drug for no good reason which generally classifies as abuse. Beyond that:
– Most of these bacteria are beneficial to your digestive functions
– The presence of beneficial or neutral (commensal) species blocks disease-causing species from gaining a foothold, because competition is stricter
– You’re contributing to the generation of antibiotic resistance
These are issues that are present anytime you take antibiotics. The need to clear out disease-causing bacteria may outweigh them, but when there is no such need you are strictly hurting your health (and that of others through resistance).
Ignoring the effect on your microbiome for a second (microbiome = microbes living in and on your body). Some antibiotics are actually quite bad for *you* in themselves, they’re toxic chemicals that can, for example, cause liver failure and hearing loss.
Two main reasons: 1) Most of the bacteria living in your body are helpful to it (e.g. e. coli in your large intestine helps absorb water and produces vitamin K that your body can’t make for itself. Killing off these bacteria will harm your body.
2) You don’t kill ALL the bacteria; some have mutated to have some drug resistance. If you kill off all the non-resistant ones, the resistant ones multiply rapidly to fill all the space you’ve created for them by destroying the competition. Now you have a colony of drug resistant bacteria in your body and antibiotics are useless.
Just because you have a machine that *can* destroy a building, it doesn’t mean that you *must* start destroying random buildings for fun. You have to destroy those that *need to be* destroyed and keep the rest.
Same with antibiotics. Bacteria that don’t cause harm should not be killed. Some are just peaceful bystanders, but you have really useful bacteria that help your digestion or produce vitamins. Those you actually need.
The vast majority of bacteria within your body are beneficial/symbiotic. Humans evolved in tandem with these bacteria. To the point where – your appendix – previously seen as without purpose, has now been understood to be a *repository for good bacterial colonies* – so that your body can replenish your intestines with that good bacteria if the rest needs to be essentially purged (due to food poisoning, etc).
Much of your mood is dependent on strains of bacteria, which interact with serotonin receptors in your gut and regulate stimulation of the vagus nerve, and much of your **immune system’s** effectiveness – tied to proper bacterial colonies.
If you were to purge your body of bacteria, everything about your health would end up screwed up.
So, no – you don’t want to just casually take antibiotics. Yes, sometimes bad bacteria will present in your body in the form of an infection – but of the trillions of bacteria in your body, the majority are there in a helpful/medically-necessary capacity. Many of them are there also fighting off bad bacteria.
Hope this clarifies. I could grab citations, but honestly – if you’re doubting anything I’ve said here – a quick Google search will prove every part extensively.
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