Understanding the Relation Between Antibiotics and Constipation
One of the major causes of constipation is unhealthy gut flora in your body. Your gut is the home to millions of microorganisms which are several times higher than the body cells in number. Gut flora has high importance in your body. According to the studies conducted by scientists and medical professionals, gut flora comprise about 70 percent of the body’s immune system. It has a major role in controlling metabolism, fighting against infections as well as maintaining normal digestive functions.
What Makes Up Gut Flora?
Gut flora is contained with all types of organisms including healthy bacteria, malicious bacteria, parasites and germs. The amount of healthy functioning organisms in the gut makes up about 90 percent and the rest are unhealthy creatures. The large amount of healthy microorganisms monitors the actions of unhealthy bacteria and ensures that they are not causing problems in the gut. However, the problem develops when the number of unhealthy bacteria surpasses the amount of healthy organisms. The condition is termed as gut dysbiosis.
Antibiotics as the Primary Solution
The first and foremost remedy that comes to everyone’s mind when this condition develops is, intake of antibiotics. Antibiotics can resolve the issue by killing the bacteria for sure, but it harms all sorts of bacteria including both healthy as well as unhealthy bacteria. Antibiotics works best at times when a person is in life threatening health condition and it is the only way to help him out. But this is not the practice nowadays. People depend on antibiotics for almost all the health disorders, even for the minutest headache or stomach problem. It is revealed that the percentage of healthy people before antibiotics were discovered was more than the ratio in the modern times.
How Antibiotics Result in Constipation?
Antibiotics and constipation are closely related that the root cause of latter is intake of antibiotics. Antibiotics destroy the flora in the gut which becomes more susceptible to infections since unhealthy organisms invade in the gut. There is no wonder why people becomes sick again after completing antibiotics treatment or once the course is stopped. To address the second illness, they again take in antibiotics that make the situation many times worse.
Unhealthy gut is the number one cause of constipation. Human feces are made up of water salts, dead cells, fat traces and bacteria. The most important and prime constituent in stools is intestinal bacteria. Intestinal bacteria reside in the colon and ease the passage of feces into the rectum. As already said, antibiotics can wipe out these healthy creatures in the intestine and not to mention that slows down the functioning of excretory system in the body.
Constipation resulting from excess antibiotics intake can last years and may not cure at all if left ignored. Sadly, the only solution to this is preventing it. This is because when you seek medical care for this, you would probably treat it with antibiotics again. However, there are natural ways to treat it. So, keep in mind the connection between antibiotics and constipation and have the drugs only when required.