# Why are antibiotics so damn hard on the digestive system? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 6, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-antibiotics-so-damn-hard-on-the-digestive-system/649507 "2013-02-06T18:16:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-antibiotics-so-damn-hard-on-the-digestive-system/649507/1 "2013-02-06T18:16:26Z")
Every single one I’ve ever had has resulted in significant discomfort to outright loss of control of the whole system, sometimes in both directions at the same time. When I have to take a prescription-level anti-nausea medication in order to keep the prescribed antibiotic \*down \*long enough to actually accomplish anything, you’d think there would be an incentive to figure out another means of application, or some way to make it less destructive. I understand that I have a lot of flora getting deflorated in there, but really, does it make that much of a difference? Can’t they make antibiotics that specifically ignore the digestive bits? What is going on in my stomach! ---
**Author:** ![eltro102](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@eltro102](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eltro102)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-antibiotics-so-damn-hard-on-the-digestive-system/649507/2 "2013-02-06T18:37:02Z")
Antibiotics aren’t very discriminative on who or what they kill, so they kill the baddies but also most of the useful bacteria (this is usually replenished very quickly by the appendix) ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-antibiotics-so-damn-hard-on-the-digestive-system/649507/3 "2013-02-06T19:08:16Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > Every single one I’ve ever had has resulted in significant discomfort to outright loss of control of the whole system, sometimes in both directions at the same time. > > When I have to take a prescription-level anti-nausea medication in order to keep the prescribed antibiotic \*down \*long enough to actually accomplish anything, you’d think there would be an incentive to figure out another means of application, or some way to make it less destructive. > > I understand that I have a lot of flora getting deflorated in there, but really, does it make that much of a difference? Can’t they make antibiotics that specifically ignore the digestive bits? > > What is going on in my stomach! As **eltro102** says, your “good gut” bacteria have been wiped out and you end up with a C. diff infection that overwhelms your digestive system. > [@](#): > > Clostridium difficile (pronunciation below) (from the Greek kloster (κλωστήρ), spindle, and Latin difficile,[1] difficult), also known as “CDF/cdf”, or “C. diff”, is a species of Gram-positive bacteria of the genus Clostridium that causes severe diarrhea and other intestinal disease when competing bacteria in the gut flora have been wiped out by antibiotics. > > Clostridia are anaerobic, spore-forming rods (bacilli).[2] C. difficile is the most serious cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) and can lead to pseudomembranous colitis, a severe inflammation of the colon, often resulting from eradication of the normal gut flora by antibiotics.[3] > **[Clostridioides difficile](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clostridium_difficile)** > > Clostridioides difficile (syn. Clostridium difficile) is a bacterium known for causing serious diarrheal infections, and may also cause colon cancer. It is known also as C. difficile, or C. diff (/siː dɪf/), and is a Gram-positive species of spore-forming bacteria. Clostridioides spp. are anaerobic, motile bacteria, ubiquitous in nature and especially prevalent in soil. Its vegetative cells are rod-shaped, pleomorphic, and occur in pairs or short chains. Under the microscope, they appea Clo... ---
**Author:** ![ombre12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d26b3c/32.png) [@ombre12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ombre12)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-antibiotics-so-damn-hard-on-the-digestive-system/649507/4 "2013-02-06T19:10:33Z")
Penicillin has always had that effect on me. I thought having to be near a bathroom for 10 days just came with the territory. Finally mentioned it to a doctor and he said “let’s try a different antibiotic”. Never had a problem since. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-antibiotics-so-damn-hard-on-the-digestive-system/649507/5 "2013-02-06T20:01:17Z")
It’s by no means a universal problem. I’ve taken plenty of antibiotics in my time and never suffered anything more than the occasional slight bit of gas. ---
**Author:** ![ethelbert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@ethelbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ethelbert)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-antibiotics-so-damn-hard-on-the-digestive-system/649507/6 "2013-02-06T20:07:44Z")
The human body is more a community of beings than a single being. According to the Human Microbiome Project there are 10 microbial cells in the human body for every “human” one. Anything that messes with this community (and antibiotics certainly do that) can throw something out of whack, and it is such a complicated (and poorly understood) community that we rarely know exactly what has gone awry. One treatment that is coming back into favor is the fecal transplant which is used to repopulate the flora in the digestive system. The way I understand it, fecal matter is used because they are not really sure what they need to repopulate. There is even some speculation that some autoimmune diseases may have their origin in digestive flora imbalances. Mind you, I am aware that this kind of talk has the distinct stink of woo (not to mention poo), but there appears (to this unprofessional observer) to be a growing amount of science behind it. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-antibiotics-so-damn-hard-on-the-digestive-system/649507/7 "2013-02-06T20:14:34Z")
> [@ethelbert](#): > > The human body is more a community of beings than a single being. According to the Human Microbiome Project there are 10 microbial cells in the human body for every “human” one… You might already know this, but it is misleading to say that the human body is only 10% human cells; all of those bacteria live outside the body, including those inside the gut (the majority, all of those bacteria are only a few pounds); your flesh itself is all human cells. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-antibiotics-so-damn-hard-on-the-digestive-system/649507/8 "2013-02-06T20:21:35Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > As **eltro102** says, your “good gut” bacteria have been wiped out and you end up with a C. diff infection that overwhelms your digestive system. Well, that \*can \*happen, but not \*all \*digestive issues secondary to antibiotic use are caused by _C. difficile_. Digestion is a complicated business, and the gut flora help out quite a bit - disrupt their balance and it’s easy to end up with diarrhea. ---
**Author:** ![half-elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@half-elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/half-elf)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-antibiotics-so-damn-hard-on-the-digestive-system/649507/9 "2013-02-06T20:57:52Z")
Eating a tub of yoghurt (real yoghurt) a day when taking antibiotics is highly recommended because it helps replenish and balance stomach and gut flora. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-antibiotics-so-damn-hard-on-the-digestive-system/649507/10 "2013-02-06T21:03:55Z")
> [@half-elf](#): > > Eating a tub of yoghurt (real yoghurt) a day when taking antibiotics is highly recommended because it helps replenish and balance stomach and gut flora. Meh. Yoghurt doesn’t have enough variety of strains in it to make much of a difference. Won’t hurt, usually doesn’t help much. Fecal transplant is the answer. ---
**Author:** ![half-elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@half-elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/half-elf)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-antibiotics-so-damn-hard-on-the-digestive-system/649507/11 "2013-02-06T21:38:48Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Meh. Yoghurt doesn’t have enough variety of strains in it to make much of a difference. Won’t hurt, usually doesn’t help much. > > Fecal transplant is the answer. 🙂 Colour me surprised, it’s what I’ve been told all my life! And - fecal transplant?!?!?! 😕:eek: I daren’t even google it!! Care to expand? ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-antibiotics-so-damn-hard-on-the-digestive-system/649507/12 "2013-02-06T21:41:29Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Fecal transplant is the answer. I’ve read about those. Seems to be a miracle cure but they have to find a way to isolate the good stuff and put it in a pill…or an enema. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-antibiotics-so-damn-hard-on-the-digestive-system/649507/13 "2013-02-06T21:50:42Z")
> [@ethelbert](#): > > The human body is more a community of beings than a single being. According to the Human Microbiome Project there are 10 microbial cells in the human body for every “human” one. Anything that messes with this community (and antibiotics certainly do that) can throw something out of whack, and it is such a complicated (and poorly understood) community that we rarely know exactly what has gone awry. One treatment that is coming back into favor is the fecal transplant which is used to repopulate the flora in the digestive system. The way I understand it, fecal matter is used because they are not really sure what they need to repopulate. > There is even some speculation that some autoimmune diseases may have their origin in digestive flora imbalances. > Mind you, I am aware that this kind of talk has the distinct stink of woo (not to mention poo), but there appears (to this unprofessional observer) to be a growing amount of science behind it. There is a good research and sound science supporting fecal transplants; they’re not woo at all, and in fact I think they’re approaching ‘commonly accepted medicine’. I saw an article in the last month or two (though my Google-fu is too weak to quickly find it) that some people are experimenting with artificial feces (growing in controlled conditions a specific mix of bacteria to use), though they haven’t gotten the controlled mix to be as effective as a, um. free-range wild-harvested transplant. But my guess is that a lab-grown culture is the future of this kind of therapy (or possibly a self-culture harvested before the antibiotic treatment). ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-antibiotics-so-damn-hard-on-the-digestive-system/649507/14 "2013-02-06T22:08:01Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > But my guess is that a lab-grown culture is the future of this kind of therapy… What would a poop farmer use for fertilizer?😕 ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-antibiotics-so-damn-hard-on-the-digestive-system/649507/15 "2013-02-06T22:23:25Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > There is a good research and sound science supporting fecal transplants; they’re not woo at all, and in fact I think they’re approaching ‘commonly accepted medicine’. I have heard of these, and they sound interesting, but I’m still unsure of the goal of them - from what I read, I thought the idea was to come in after everything was good and dead, to recolonize more quickly with the good stuff, to keep the bad stuff (specifically c.diff) from colonizing afterwards in the convenient void and screwing things up again. Are you saying that if they were used regularly, they would help prevent some of the pain/nausea/expulsion side-effects DURING the antibiotic treatment? Damn, if that’s the case, then just wrap my antibiotic pills up in little poop packages for every dose then! ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-antibiotics-so-damn-hard-on-the-digestive-system/649507/16 "2013-02-07T00:06:42Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > … I saw an article in the last month or two (though my Google-fu is too weak to quickly find it) that some people are experimenting with artificial feces (growing in controlled conditions a specific mix of bacteria to use), though they haven’t gotten the controlled mix to be as effective as a, um. free-range wild-harvested transplant. But my guess is that a lab-grown culture is the future of this kind of therapy (or possibly a self-culture harvested before the antibiotic treatment). [RePOOPulate.](http://http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/11/artificial-poop-repoopulate-fecal-transplants_n_2450058.html) ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-antibiotics-so-damn-hard-on-the-digestive-system/649507/17 "2013-02-07T00:23:58Z")
While it’s absolutely true that antibiotics mess with your gut flora and cause diarrhea as a result, it’s also true that antibiotics (some of them) are directly irritating to the stomach. They’re not alone, of course; many a drug has a “take with food” warning for the same reason. It’s important, though, to check with a pharmacist so you know what antibiotic you’re taking and whether food, and what food, is okay with it. There are some that won’t absorb well if taken with any food. Others (tetracycline being the classic example) shouldn’t be taken with milk or cheese, because the active ingredient binds with the calcium and becomes inactive. Some antibiotics mess with your stomach pH (I think they do this because of the aforementioned bacteria decimation; it’s actually the bacteria which balance the pH and when they’re dead, they quit. Slackers.). You may find an antacid helps, if this is the case. But again, check with a pharmacist to make sure it won’t interfere with the antibiotic. ---
**Author:** ![MsBatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@MsBatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsBatt)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-antibiotics-so-damn-hard-on-the-digestive-system/649507/18 "2013-02-07T00:37:59Z")
Try taking probiotics to repopulate the ‘good’ bacteria. Yes, they’re in yogurt, but you can buy tablets that are concentrated good guys. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-antibiotics-so-damn-hard-on-the-digestive-system/649507/19 "2013-02-07T01:34:23Z")
> [@MsBatt](#): > > Try taking probiotics to repopulate the ‘good’ bacteria. Yes, they’re in yogurt, but you can buy tablets that are concentrated good guys. Again, these are mostly only one strain of bacteria, not really sufficient to change much. Recent research suggests it takes a dozen different strains to make a big difference quickly. Though some experts are saying they might be able to get a decent clinical effect with 6 strains. Much new investigation is going on in this field. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-antibiotics-so-damn-hard-on-the-digestive-system/649507/20 "2013-02-07T01:55:27Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Again, these are mostly only one strain of bacteria, not really sufficient to change much. Recent research suggests it takes a dozen different strains to make a big difference quickly. Though some experts are saying they might be able to get a decent clinical effect with 6 strains. > > Much new investigation is going on in this field. Do you know if Greek yogurt is showing any better results? That’s got 5, according to my label. (All I know is it makes delicious ranch dressing…) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-antibiotics-so-damn-hard-on-the-digestive-system/649507.md?page=2)