# How does your gut flora get restocked after major antibiotics? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 10, 2006, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-your-gut-flora-get-restocked-after-major-antibiotics/372216 "2006-09-10T22:48:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nemminie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecb155/32.png) [@nemminie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nemminie)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-your-gut-flora-get-restocked-after-major-antibiotics/372216/1 "2006-09-10T22:48:35Z")
I have been prescribed a course of double strength antibiotics after the regular strength course was not sufficient. Nothing too worrisome infectionwise so far. Just wondered - if it kills off my gut flora, how does it get itself back again? ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-your-gut-flora-get-restocked-after-major-antibiotics/372216/2 "2006-09-10T22:52:51Z")
No antibiotic is 100% effective. Drugs will kill off a lot of your flora, but by no means all. Not by a long shot. The ones that survive reproduce. ---
**Author:** ![Yeah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/dbc845/32.png) [@Yeah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeah)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-your-gut-flora-get-restocked-after-major-antibiotics/372216/3 "2006-09-10T22:53:25Z")
> [@nemminie](#): > > I have been prescribed a course of double strength antibiotics after the regular strength course was not sufficient. Nothing too worrisome infectionwise so far. Just wondered - if it kills off my gut flora, how does it get itself back again? It doesn’t kill off all your gut flora and there are plenty of gut flora all over the place that you will ingest as you eat, drink, breathe, copulate, pick your nose, chew your pencil tip, etc. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-your-gut-flora-get-restocked-after-major-antibiotics/372216/4 "2006-09-11T00:23:54Z")
I’m on Amoxicillin right now, and my doc’s recommendation is to eat yoghurt and/or acidophilus milk. Yes, your gut will restock itself, but the hope is to not let unpleasant flora get the upper hand before the natural balance is re-established. ---
**Author:** ![Lips\_Obsession](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bbce88/32.png) [@Lips\_Obsession](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lips_Obsession)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-your-gut-flora-get-restocked-after-major-antibiotics/372216/5 "2006-09-11T17:47:20Z")
I actually had this happen to me a bit over a year ago. Had a bad case of cellulitus and they put me on some strong antibiotics. Ended up killing all the good bacteria and I would up with a nasty case of C-Diff that put me in the hospital for a week. After they got that all sorted out the doctor told me to refrain from any carbonated beverages for at least a month as they would inhibit the return of the good bacteria… I had been ignoring my type II diabetes prior to my hospitalization so the other changes they told me to make I believe were related to that. They did also recommend the yogurt as well. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-your-gut-flora-get-restocked-after-major-antibiotics/372216/6 "2006-09-11T18:06:08Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > I’m on Amoxicillin right now, and my doc’s recommendation is to eat yoghurt and/or acidophilus milk. Yes, your gut will restock itself, but the hope is to not let unpleasant flora get the upper hand before the natural balance is re-established. I buy the bacteria in OTC chewable tablets, as I cannot stand the taste of yogurt or acidophilus milk. The tablets help me a lot. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-your-gut-flora-get-restocked-after-major-antibiotics/372216/7 "2006-09-11T18:12:44Z")
Is bacteria a flora or a fauna? Or neither (germa?) :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-your-gut-flora-get-restocked-after-major-antibiotics/372216/8 "2006-09-11T20:47:04Z")
> [@Lynn Bodoni](#): > > I buy the bacteria in OTC chewable tablets, as I cannot stand the taste of yogurt or acidophilus milk. The tablets help me a lot. “Lynn, whatcha eatin’?” “Germs…want some?” :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-your-gut-flora-get-restocked-after-major-antibiotics/372216/9 "2006-09-11T21:40:40Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > Is bacteria a flora or a fauna? Or neither (germa?) :dubious: If you want to get really technical it’s microbiota. However microbiology was once part of the field of botany and it retains most of the same terms and conventions. So bacteria are considered flora. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-your-gut-flora-get-restocked-after-major-antibiotics/372216/10 "2006-09-11T23:21:50Z")
[Some of the diarrhea that occurs when taking antibiotics can be prevented by taking probiotics](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16939749&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum). Presumably, this leads to more rapid restoration of the normal bowel flora. Obligate [Wiki link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probiotics) to probiotics.