David Holland, MD

If you've read or heard enough about the problems that fungi and their toxins can cause, and what brings on fungal problems, you've probably been scared to death about taking an antibiotic ever again. If you truly need an antibiotic, no problem--there are things you can do to reverse the damage it can cause.

First of all, I have to tell you about a recent situation with a dear friend. He had a severe ear ache, which later progressed into the worst headache of his life. Having the "worst headache of your life" is never a good situation, and one for which you should always seek medical assistance. This is not the time to hit the health food store. His problem turned out to be one of the most dreaded causes of such a headache: bacterial meningitis.

This was one of those times when you don't even question why the nurse is putting antibiotics into your IV. In fact, if you don't have an IV, this is one of those times when you demand one and demand a dose of antibiotics, as soon as possible.

He was blessed to walk out of the hospital, relatively unscathed. Then the home-work started: rebuilding the intestinal supply of good bacteria. Those strong, IV antibiotics, with their first dose, began to remove these healthy, protective intestinal bacteria. With these intestinal bacteria gone, yeast and other unhealthy germs can overgrow in the intestines and exit to other parts of the body, causing all sorts of potential problems. Any time an antibiotic is taken, or has ever been taken, a PRO-biotic MUST FOLLLOW. I recommend that adults take the Healthy Trinity capsules from www.natren.com, and children take the powdered forms of Megadophilus, Bifidofactor, and DigestaLac from the same company.

Since probiotics aren't medicines, it's wise to simply follow the directions placed on the label for their use; or, speak with one of the company representatives regarding a safe starting dose or replacement dose after taking antibiotics. A good probiotic should be refrigerated and state on the label that it guarantees the given amount of bacteria (cfu's, or colony-forming units) through the expiration date on the bottle, not "at the time of manufacture".

You might say that "I've taken antibiotics before and I didn't have any problems with them." Or did you? If you have eczema, gastro-esophageal reflux (heartburn), asthma, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, allergies, etc., these may be a result of the antibiotics--and more specifically, a manifestation of the intestinal yeast overgrowth that ensued--that you took weeks, months, or even years ago. So it's worth trying a probiotic regardless of when you took antibiotics.

When should you start a probiotic? As early as possible. You can even start taking them while you're on the antibiotics--simply space out the two by at least two hours. Ideally, you would have taken probiotics as part of your regular supplements before the possibility of antibiotics ever arrives, so it's never too late, but it's never too early!