How to Stay Healthy While Taking Antibiotics

Sometimes antibiotics are the only line of defence you have against a bacterial infection. They work by either killing infection-causing bacteria or preventing them from reproducing, depending on the antibiotic class. Your health-care provider typically prescribes antibiotics only when they are clearly needed and when the benefits outweigh the potential risks.

While many antibiotics target a specific type of infection, others are broad spectrum. These are often used when the cause is unclear or when there is no precise treatment for that particular infection.

The main issue is that antibiotics-especially broad-spectrum antibiotics-can wipe out even important, harmless bacteria that reside in the body, including the gut microbiome. This upsets the balance of the digestive tract. As a result, you might experience symptoms such as:

• Diarrhea
• Nausea
• Loss of appetite
• Indigestion
• Bloating
• Abdominal pain

If these symptoms are severe, if you notice blood in your stool, or if you develop a high fever or signs of dehydration, you should seek medical care promptly.

Health-care professionals often recommend adding probiotic foods, supplements, or both to your antibiotic regimen. Here is why.

What are Probiotics and Why Do People Take Them with Antibiotics?

As mentioned earlier, antibiotics are vital for fighting bacterial diseases in the body, but they can also disrupt the digestive tract, as reflected by the symptoms listed above. Sometimes the gut does not return to normal quickly, even after you have finished your antibiotic course.

Fortunately, even while taking antibiotics, you have a few options that may help restore the gut ecosystem and support overall health. One of these options is probiotics.

In simple terms, probiotics are beneficial bacteria found in the gut that are linked to optimal body function. Probiotic supplements contain billions of these helpful microorganisms, which can help maintain or restore balance in the digestive system.

These beneficial bacteria can counteract the negative effects of antibiotics by replenishing bacteria that may be reduced during treatment. They help restore the normal balance of important bacterial communities in the body. Examples of helpful probiotics include strains of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacteria, and Saccharomyces (a beneficial yeast).

Probiotics, whether from foods or supplements, may be taken during or after an antibiotic regimen. However, people who are seriously ill, immunocompromised, pregnant, or living with chronic health conditions should check with a health-care professional before starting probiotic supplements.

Probiotics vs. Prebiotics

In a nutshell, prebiotics are food for the beneficial bacteria within the gut microbiome (probiotics). Like any other organism, bacteria need nutrients, and that is what prebiotics provide. Consuming prebiotics either before or after taking an antibiotic can help restore balance in the gut. Some foods and ingredients contain prebiotics, including:

• Bananas
• Garlic
• Onions
• Chicory root
• Garlic
• Jerusalem artichokes

In addition, some manufactured foods are enriched with prebiotics, including:

• Cereals
• Yogurt
• Bread
• Infant formula

When checking food labels for prebiotics, look for terms such as:

• Galactooligosaccharides (GOS)
• Chicory fiber
• Fructooligosaccharides (FOS)
• Inulin
• Oligofructose (OF)

Caveat: Most prebiotics are dietary fibres. Consuming them in large quantities may result in bloating.

Probiotics that Pair Well with Antibiotics

Although some foods contain probiotics and/or prebiotics, they are often present in small amounts and may not be enough to relieve symptoms caused by antibiotics, especially when symptoms are pronounced. Health-care practitioners often recommend pairing probiotic supplements with an appropriate diet.

When Should You Take Probiotics?

Many people wonder whether they should take probiotics alongside antibiotics or after treatment ends. Either approach may be reasonable, depending on your preferences and how urgently you want to support your gut microbiome. However, experts strongly advise against taking probiotics at the exact same time as your antibiotic dose. Otherwise, the antibiotic may also destroy the bacteria you are trying to introduce with probiotics.

It is usually better to take probiotics a few hours before or a few hours after an antibiotic dose. For example, if your antibiotic schedule is morning and evening, you may want to take probiotic supplements around mid-day. A common rule of thumb is to take probiotics between daily antibiotic doses. This spacing gives the antibiotic time to reduce bacteria in the gut before you introduce beneficial bacteria.

In addition, dietitians and clinicians often recommend continuing probiotics and prebiotics for at least 1-2 weeks after your antibiotic regimen is over. This is because the effects of medications on the gut microbiota can last beyond the end of the treatment course.

Remember, the main reason it is recommended not to take probiotics and antibiotics at the same time is that antibiotics may reduce the effectiveness of probiotics. Other than that, there is no chemical interaction between the two.

Probiotic supplements generally have a strong safety profile. Rare and minor side effects have been reported, including diarrhea, constipation, thirst, bloating, flatulence, rash, abdominal pain, vomiting, and nausea. If you experience severe or unusual symptoms after starting a probiotic, stop taking it and contact a health-care professional.

What Symptoms of Antibiotic Use Can Be Reduced with Probiotics?

Many symptoms associated with antibiotic medications may lessen-or even resolve-with the use of probiotics, but probiotics are not a panacea. Even so, many people find symptoms more manageable with probiotics than without them.

Probiotics may be used to help prevent symptoms during antibiotic use or to help improve symptoms once they occur. If you have had side effects during antibiotic treatment before, or if you want to reduce the likelihood of problems, you may consider incorporating probiotics into your therapy. At the same time, do not stop or change an antibiotic without first checking with the clinician who prescribed it.

If you are already experiencing adverse effects and want to restore your digestive tract toward its usual baseline, probiotics may still be a helpful option. Problems that probiotics may help with include:

1. Antibiotic-associated Diarrhea (AAD)

One of the most common unwanted outcomes of antibiotic regimens is diarrhea, affecting about 1 in 3 people taking antibiotics. As mentioned earlier, antibiotics can destroy both beneficial and harmful bacteria. Beneficial bacteria in the intestine play an important role in overall health, and reducing them can lead to a range of symptoms.

For example, gut bacteria help with water absorption and maintaining firmer stools. They also help keep opportunistic bacteria such as Clostridium difficile (C. diff) in check. When the gut microbiome is disrupted, C. diff can multiply, causing infection and producing toxins that may lead to inflammation and diarrhea.

Probiotics can help replenish beneficial gut bacteria and support normal stool formation. One research review of 17 studies reported that probiotic use could significantly reduce the chance of developing AAD.

2. Stomach Pain

As with diarrhea, stomach pain may result when antibiotics suppress normal gut flora. Inflammation related to C. diff overgrowth may present as painful stomach cramps. In mild cases, symptoms may last up to 2 weeks after treatment, while in more severe cases, symptoms may persist for weeks after the medication is finished.

To help address these effects, you may want to add probiotics to your antibiotic regimen and include complementary foods, such as those mentioned earlier.

What can you do if you are experiencing stomach pain?

• Try applying a hot pack, as you would for cramps.
  • This can be a hot water bottle or a heating pad.
  • This can help the stomach muscles relax.
• Warm up some chamomile tea.
  • This herbal remedy may help ease inflammation.
  • It may also soothe the stomach.
• Drink rice water.
  • This may create a soothing barrier along the stomach lining.
• Warm up some ginger tea.
  • This can help with nausea and may relax muscles in the intestinal tract.
  • It may also help with stomach cramps.

These home remedies, along with probiotics, may help with mild stomach pain. Home remedies may ease mild discomfort, but severe or worsening pain, fever, vomiting, or an inability to keep fluids down requires prompt medical evaluation.

3. Nausea

Medications such as erythromycin and aspirin are known to cause nausea. Other drugs (such as ibuprofen, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, and nifedipine, a blood pressure medication) may also trigger vomiting. In some cases, nausea reflects how a medication works. For example, pain medications such as Vicodin and Percocet interact with parts of the brain involved in nausea and vomiting.

With antibiotics, however, nausea is often linked to digestive upset. This is common among older adults, whose digestive systems may retain medication longer before it is fully absorbed across the digestive tract.

Experts recommend taking probiotics with antibiotics to help restore the gut flora. This can support digestive function during antibiotic treatment. If nausea is intense or prevents you from taking medications as prescribed, call your health-care provider; an adjustment in timing, dose, or medication may be needed.

4. Bloating

Bloating often results from disruption of the normal balance of the gut microbiome. Antibiotics may lead to overgrowth of less desirable bacteria in the small intestine. As a result, you may experience bloating even after you have finished your antibiotic course.

This type of problem may require probiotics to help re-establish normal gut bacterial balance, or it may require a change in medication.

Remember, probiotics are not a one-size-fits-all solution, but they may support the restoration of healthy digestive function. If symptoms do not improve after adding supplements to your treatment plan, consider discussing the issue with your doctor.

How to Take Probiotics Correctly

When pairing probiotics with antibiotics, it is generally best to take probiotics a few hours after the antibiotic dose to increase the chance that probiotic bacteria survive. However, antibiotics are not the only challenge probiotics face. Probiotic organisms also have to survive stomach acid long enough to reach the lower parts of the gut.

Why is this an issue? Stomach acidity is influenced by several factors, including whether your stomach is empty or full. During fasting (when you are very hungry), gastric pH will most likely range between 1.7 and 2, which is highly acidic.

In contrast, pH typically rises after a meal, making conditions less acidic. However, food intake also triggers the release of digestive enzymes into the stomach, and these enzymes may also damage probiotics.

In addition, taking probiotics with a heavy meal may slow transit as well. Food takes longer to digest, which can delay the movement of probiotics to the lower parts of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Longer transit time also means probiotics may be exposed to stomach acid and digestive enzymes for a longer period.

When deciding whether to take probiotics on an empty stomach, aim to have a small amount of food in your stomach, rather than a heavy meal. Another way to decide on timing is to consider your reasons for taking probiotics in the first place.

If you are trying to address digestive issues such as bloating and diarrhea, you may want to take probiotics with each meal. If you are trying to improve sleep quality, you may prefer to take them before bed. Experts are beginning to identify links between probiotics and the sleep-wake cycles.

Another consideration is your daily schedule. Early risers may prefer taking probiotics in the morning, while people who stay up late may prefer taking them later in the day.

Also remember to pair probiotics with prebiotic fibres (such as onions, garlic, leeks, jicama, and dandelion greens), as well as other prebiotic foods such as yogurt and fermented grains, as much as you can. These foods can help create a supportive environment for beneficial bacteria to thrive.

Probiotics and Prebiotics Timing

The Best Cheap Probiotics We Recommend

Which probiotic is best to take with commonly prescribed antibiotics such as Amoxil, Avelox, Cipro, Chloromycetin, or Zithromax?

After focusing on affordability, here are three probiotics that we believe are not only suitable for antibiotic prophylaxis, but also budget-friendly and easy to fit into a daily schedule. These are examples of products commonly used for gut support; they are not the only acceptable choices.

1. Yogut:

Yogut® capsules may help normalize gut microorganisms and flora. As mentioned in this article, some antibiotics can cause a range of side effects, including diarrhea. Yogut® capsules may be useful in helping manage these symptoms.

2. PrePro:

PrePro® capsules are commonly used for bowel problems. They may be suitable for people living with IBS, constipation, diarrhea, and other common problems associated with taking antibiotics. They may also be beneficial for eczema.

3. Pro-Wel

Pro-Wel® sachet is used for gastric ulcers, among other gastrointestinal conditions. It contains an active probiotic composite and therefore includes multiple bacterial strains, which are important for balancing the gut mucosa.

These probiotics may be helpful options for some people, but they are not right for everyone. Always talk with your doctor, pharmacist, or another qualified health-care professional before starting a new probiotic, especially if you are pregnant, older, taking multiple medications, or living with a chronic health condition.