antibiotics

[SKay]

Do you all give your kids antibiotics or have you found alternative treatments that work well? I've used some colloidal silver which seems to work well, but sometimes the kids get bad before it has a chance to work and I take them to the dr. There have been times that they showed improvement before the antibiotic had a chance to start taking effect so I think it was the colloidal silver--if only I had given it more time.

I cringe every time they get an antibiotic. DS used to get them all the time when he was a baby/toddler. DD has had them only 2x in 3 1/2 years (and she's even in a day care center for a few hours a day). It had been awhile since DS had any rounds close together but he has had 2 different ones the past few weeks. I need to remember to give him probiotics with these. I guess I'm just rambling now.

[catatonic]

The probiotics definitely help. Acidophilus protects the intestinal tract from the antibiotics' indiscriminate elimination of bacteria. There are essential bacteria in the gut which antibiotics kill off. Giving acidophilus at the same time as antibiotics provides a great deal of protection, and according to our compounding pharmacist, it does not interfere in any way with the antibiotic's functioning.

If your son has a history of antibiotic use, you might want to put him on a course of acidophilus regardless. Defloration of the gut results in poor food absorption, and allows larger (less digested) particles to pass through. That can intensify the negative effects of things like artificial colors.

My son needed antibiotics recently. I had the compounding pharmacist make it for him, without any artificial colors or flavors or corn sweeteners. I can't say my boy precisely enjoyed the flavor. I believe "gross" was the kindest thing he said about it. At the same time, he took acidophilus. He didn't have any noticeable reaction at all, in fact he seemed calmer overall, and I wonder if that wasn't due to the effect of the probiotics.

If your child has a bacterial infection, I wouldn't try to avoid using antibiotics. They are effective and, if used properly and for their full course, carry virtually no risk. There aren't really any effective substitutes...except time. Often the body can fight minor bacterial infections without any help at all. If you want to avoid unnecessary antibiotics, insist that the doctor is only giving them where he is SURE there is a bacterial infection. Insist on a culture, or a CBC to verify elevated white cell counts. Some cases of bacterial infection (such as ear infections, or infected wounds) obviously don't require such caution, but often doctors prescribe antibiotics, for example, for a sore throat, mainly as a "just in case" measure and in order to send parents away feeling like they've received something for the price of an office visit. In such cases it's perfectly reasonably to insist on a culture before beginning any antibiotics, to make sure you're not dealing with a viral infection -- which won't be helped at all by antibiotic use.

Antibiotics are the life-saving miracle drugs of our lifetime. They should be treated with respect, but I don't find any reason to fear them...as long as they're properly used. Missing doses or stopping halfway through the course of treatment because you "feel better" is what creates drug-resistant strains of bacteria, which are probably the greatest health threat we'll face in this century (aside from issues of environmental toxicity).

I'm rambing now...got up on my soapbox, and now it's time to hop off and make breakfast for the younguns.

[ohmama]

I have never used colloidal silver and have only briefly read some information on this a year or so ago so I'm kind of making a statement without being able to back up what I'm saying. Ok, I'm hoping someone else will point me to the research on this. I just haven't had time to look it up. I'm cheating but here goes. From what I remember this is not something safe to take. I am suspicious that it could in fact be toxic.

I know if you read what is written on the bottle or from someone selling this product they claim it is safe and useful but I would have to do some investigating before using it.

For antibotics I usually give Garlic with Capsicum or Goldenseal herb. Though you would need to be careful with using Goldenseal if you have blood sugar problems. This herb can also be toxic if not used correctly.

[SKay]

Missing doses or stopping halfway through the course of treatment because you "feel better" is what creates drug-resistant strains of bacteria

I didn't realize this is what cause the drug-resistant strains; I thought it was overuse. That makes me feel a little better.

Ohmama, I've heard that with long-term use, colloidal silver can cause a bluish tint to the skin. Sellers of the product say that the particles are broken down smaller now than they were when this happened. Supposedly the silver passes through our systems with no such side effect. Whatever the case, I'm using it only occasionally--when one of us seems to be coming down with something. When the kids are older I may use olive leaf extract instead.

[catatonic]

You're right that overuse of antibiotics contributes to the drug-resistance problem, and they should never be taken unnecessarily. The biggest difficulty I see is that you can't protect yourself simply by being personally responsible in how you use antibiotics.

Imagine this...some kid you've never seen or heard of is put on antibiotics for an ear infection. Four days into treatment, he's feeling better and no longer acting sick, so Mom misses a couple of doses and then figures what the heck, she'll just stop the antibiotics completely since her child has improved and she's forgotten doses anyway. The smart little bacteria, having been exposed to enough antibiotic to get its attention but not enough to kill it completely, learns how to fight it. You now have a drug-resistant bacteria.

This kid you've never seen or heard of goes to pre-school with your child and in typical kid manner spreads his germs all over the place sharing toys that have been in his mouth or that have been touched by fingers that were up his nose. Your own child comes down with an ear infection, one that is resistant to the first-line antibiotic treatment (typically amoxicillin).

Multiply this process by thousands of times daily. Compound it with the fact that resistant infections now being treated with second-line or third-line antibiotics are given the same incomplete course of medication. You now have some really scary germs floating around that know how to fight a multiplicity of antibiotics. Your child can catch any one of these germs, despite the fact that you have always been careful to use antibiotics properly...or even not to use them at all.

Overexposure to antibiotics can create drug-resistance in the same way that inadequate exposure can. I find this frightening, since without effective antibiotics, medicine is thrown back nearly a hundred years to the days when people died from minor wounds that became infected and then septic. Without effective drugs for combating infection, any surgery becomes a cause for major terror, since the worst of the worst drug-resistant bacteria are inevitably found in hospital settings. What happens when even vacomycin can't kill them?

Scary, scary, scary. And I probably spend way too much time thinking about this issue, but I can't help but see it as one of the major health threats we'll face in our lifetime! Bottom line is, your best defense is prevention. Wash hands as frequently as possible, keep hands out of mouths and away from eyes, avoid sharing cups or utensils, limit exposure to anyone you know is sick.

On colloidal silver...

I'd suggest you read the Quack Watch article on the subject called "Risk Without Benefits" found here:
www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/PhonyAds/silverad.html

The FDA about 4 years ago ruled that companies selling colloidal silver products were NOT allowed to make ANY claims as to therapeutic uses, but could still sell silver as a dietary supplement. Australia has taken similar steps. Prior to this, companies had been claiming that colloidal silver can kill bacteria, a claim that several countries' health agencies have determined to be unsubstantiated. The Federal Trade Commission has filed lawsuits against a number of colloidal silver retailers as part of its internet health fraud project (all of which the retailers have lost).

Controlled laboratory studies generally fail to demonstrate antibiotic properties of colloidal silver. Here's an example:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15114827

The claims FOR colloidal silver are well set-out in the following article (which comes from a company that sells colloidal silver):
www.all-natural.com/silver-1.html

There's an entire website devoted to the benefits of silver:
www.silvermedicine.org/

If you're going to use colloidal silver, I'd recommend reading this article (which includes laboratory analysis data on a number of products) on determining the quality of the product in question and what to look for so that you don't get tricked:
www.silver-colloids.com/Reports/reports.html

Keep in mind that the FDA has concluded that colloidal silver products "falsely suggest that there is substantial scientific evidence" for their safe and effective use.
See "FDA Talk Paper" at www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/ANS00971.html )

Also keep in mind that argyria (the condition in which oral consumption of silver turns your skin silver-blue) can be PERMANENT. Be careful of your dosage.

There is also evidence that silver consumption is neurologically toxic. For example, a case of silver causing epilepsy, coma, persistent vegetative state and finally death:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15111684

In all honesty, I don't know if colloidal silver is effective or not. I'd be careful with it, since it does carry the risk of some pretty serious and irreversible side effects.

[ohmama]

Now that's what I call good information!! Thank you Catatonic!

[lisle]

Hi, Catatonic:
Thanks for this post. I am allergic to vancomycin and to clindamycin, the ones most often used for resistant infections. I would wind up dying either way, then if I had a staph infection from an open surgery! And it's not so rare as is thought, as I am right now keeping my fingers crossed for my nephew who is in the hospital with just such an infection being treated with vancomycin. Even the vancomycin is becoming less effective these days, I have read.

If people would only learn to wash their hands between patients! Why don't they? Think about it. How many of our kids lie to us about washing or don't wash before touching food and food utensils? I know mine does and I am always after him. Of course in the hospital things get really complex with cross infection, but we can see the origin of the negative behavior that breeds all this antibiotic resistance right in our homes. Teach your kids to wash their hands, I so agree! My son says I am neurotic. Well, perhaps.
lisle

[catatonic]

Well, if you're neurotic, then so am I. I holler at my kids to wash their hands so often they'll probably all grow up obsessive-compulsive. The baby is the worst - what a germ factory!!! Hand in the diaper, finger up the nose, hands on the face, hands all over the floor, hands in the mouth. Gross gross gross. But a physician friend who's opinions I always respect advised me that this kind of intensive early exposure to a variety of germs is the BEST way to develop resistance to the most common infectious agents. So go ahead and let them pick their noses and then feed each other watermelon. Let them climb under the seats at the movie theater and then eat popcorn -- especially if its popcorn they found while under the seats. Allow them to enjoy sampling the taste of playground sand or gum picked off the bottom of a park bench. You'll really be doing them a favor. You'll be turning them into the Super-Immune!!!!