Using Antibiotics Sensibly

     One of the most exciting new areas of medical research is the Human Microbiome Project. Scientists are studying the bacteria that normally live on our skin, in our mouths, noses and in our gastrointestinal tract. They have found that we harbor 10 times more bacteria in and on our bodies than there are human cells in our bodies.

     These bacteria are living with us peacefully and, in fact, help our digestion, metabolism, immune function and other important body processes. They are the “good bacteria” that are often referred to when making a decision to start a child on antibiotic therapy.

     Doctors have been prescribing antibiotics for children less often over the last two decades. We no longer prescribe antibiotics for routine ear infections or fluid in the ear. We are more careful in treating children with antibiotics for “pneumonia” or “bronchitis” that may only be a viral infection that antibiotics don’t cure. Doctors and parents have become more concerned about what effects antibiotics might have on the bacteria that we need to have normally living in and on our bodies and what happens when we change or replace those bacteria.

     It is now clear that when a child gets diarrhea from taking an antibiotic it is because the bacteria in the gut have been changed. This is why replacing normal bacteria by giving probiotics has been found to decrease the risk of developing antibiotic-associated diarrhea by as remarkable 42%.

     Current studies are looking at how our normal bacteria help to protect us from infections with more harmful bacteria. Some disease processes such as colitis, cystic fibrosis, food allergies, eczema and immune disorders seem to be influenced by which bacteria are living in and on the child. In the future, part of the process of diagnosis of illness may include examining what kind of bacteria are living with a child. Part of treating illnesses may involve giving the child good bacteria to eliminate the bad bacteria.

     When as child has a serious bacterial infection, antibiotics are necessary and can be life-saving.  But for most of the fevers, coughs and colds that children suffer with, time and love are still the best cures.