This is one subject I’m definitely not going to google for myself.
According to this May 2012 JAMA meta-analysis probiotics work for antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD).
Doc, you can now get probiotics with a dozen strains in them. They do cost more, but they are out there. The days where all they have is Lactobacillus acidophilus are over, if you look for them.
Yeesh…
And likely, 99% of the time, the very worst thing you could possibly do.
Poop Soup™. It’s the worst thing to do, and the worst way to do it.
/Wilford Brimley
So that’s how stinky tofu originated. I knew it!
Seriously, the stuff smells literally like shit. Steaming, pan-fried, shit.
I usually tolerate antibiotics rather well, but for some reason in the last couple of years, they haven’t been giving me my beloved Amoxicillin, instead trying out others. (I had a non-itchy rash with it once - they may be being over-cautious about an allergic reaction.)
Well, late last year, I got Bactrim for the first time. Six hours after my first dose (with food!) I got so nauseous that I thought I was going to die.
Good! Hopefully they’re the right strains.
Nm.
ETA: I was about to mention the memorable phrase “Yellow soup,” but others have done so. Hair of the dog that bit you.
Yeah, but you wade thru all the data, and it does point out that the effectiveness may be derived via use of preparations that contain blends of multiple species, though it bemoans lack of documentation as to just how many species of which type were used in most of the trials studied.
And with an NNT of 13 (need to treat 13 patients with this regimen to have one bad outcome avoided), it won’t benefit the typical patient. Not that it should be avoided for that reason, but patients should not expect to see a difference in their particular case.
Heh - I just heard a podcast on this very subject and yeah, that’s what I thought too! Seriously. No, they don’t operate and implant poop in your gut… they actually take a somewhat purified donation, mix it with milk, and administer by a nasogastic tube or something. Supposedly it has a pretty dramatic effect.
Of course, I’m guessing that if it’s done during the antbiotic treatment, the medication would just kill those critters too.
Link to podcast please? I have been following these advancements for years and find it fascinating.
A fair point but one can also look at it like this: antibiotic-associated diarrhea was only 58% as likely when using probiotics, i.e. the risk was cut almost in half. The reason for the need to treat (NNT) being 13 was mainly, as stated, “AAD does not occur in the majority of patients.” Most people won’t have AAD if they use probiotics … and most won’t if they do not use probiotics. If you are someone however who IS prone, and wants to avoid it, then using probiotics may cut your risk nearly in half.
How Stuff Works, which is related to the Discovery Channel etc. (I think). They have lots of cool info. Related podcasts include Stuff You Missed In History Class and Stuff Your Mom Never Told You.
The one in question (which I quite literally listened to just 2-3 days ago) was called “Fecal Transplants” and it came out on January 24th.
So … what’s going on physiogically with people who take antibiotics and DON’T have any digestive effects?
The antibiotics didn’t kill *all *your gut probiotics. They usually don’t, in fact.
some recent shit from downunder.
Poo transplants - the Australian story
there was also
Clostridium difficile and the probiotic bomb
along with some older shit
Human Probiotic Infusion