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  • Dr Gloria Dodd, DVM

ADMINISTERING ANTIBIOTICS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY


What really is the good, bad and ugly of antibiotics?

  • Administering antibiotics to a very weak animal in severe acute bacterial infections is good, and can be life saving.

  • Giving antibiotics as a preventative for future bacterial infections with or without viral/fungal infections is bad.

  • Giving antibiotics chronically in frequency and length of time for more than 2 weeks in the life of an animal is ugly!

Items two and three above cause more harm to the health of an animal than helps. How? There is no rationale for giving antibiotics (effective only against some bacterial infections ) for fungal and viral infections. It has no affect against viruses or fungi organisms. It is expensive, time-consuming and you may be losing valuable time in treating the real cause for the illness in your animal.

Chronic antibiotic administration allows the development of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria, for which some cannot be treated.

In livestock meant for food consumption either by companion animals or the human population, there are very stringent regulations controlling antibiotic use, frequency, and length of administration. There are especially stringent controls concerning withdrawal times for the antibiotic to work out of the body of the livestock before slaughter. Antibiotic residues are passed on to the consumer rendering development of antibiotic resistant pathogenic bacteria at the time of consumption or in the future, that pose a risk to the public health. Government agencies regulating antibiotic administration to animals are: the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and AMDUCA (Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act of 1994).

MORE IMPORTANT, AND WITH LITTLE THOUGHT GIVEN BY ORTHODOX MEDICINE, IS THAT ANTIBIOTICS NOT ONLY KILL OFF PATHOGENS BUT ALSO THE NECESSARY FRIENDLY BACTERIAL FLORA IN THE INTESTINE THAT IS ESSENTIAL FOR DIGESTING PROTEINS.

It is essential to supplement these friendly bacteria by probiotics, (such as Kyodophilus) during and 1 month after the last dose of antibiotics taken. Otherwise two things happen that weaken the animal:

1. Without properly digested protein available to the body, it is deprived of the essential building blocks of organ and enzymatic processes in the body necessary for Life.

2. ​These improperly digested protein molecule complexes of Indole, Skatole and Tryptophane, are toxins in themselves and are reabsorbed from the intestine into the circulatory system, adding to the toxin load of every cell of every organ in the body. If not corrected, the body will weaken and be prey to any pathogen encountered in the environment. Holistically speaking, the Chi flow of energy of the digestive system is tied to the immune system. When weakened, the body's defenses become weakened to carcinogens, allergens, and infective agents.

Remember that, the next time your DVM prescribes antibiotics for your animal.

For more information, read this article, by Dr. Mercola and Dr. Becker:

Probiotics: A Simple Step to Radically Boost Your Pet's Immune System

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