Overuse of Antibiotics and the Alternative

Tragically, the overuse of antibiotics in the west is only the tip of the ice burg. In much of Asia and Latin America you can simply walk into a pharmacy and ask for antibiotics and they will give them to you, without a prescription. People even take them for the common cold.

And now we see this excellent statement http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/mar/11/superbugs-antibiotics-bacterial-diseases-infections by the Chief Medical Officer of  Great Britain, Dame Sally Davies,  and i quote, " If tough measures are not taken to restrict the use of antibiotics ..., "we will find ourselves in a health system not dissimilar to the early 19th century at some point".

Please do not take antibiotics unless:

 a)you know for sure what you have is bacterial and not viral, and that means culturing sputum, and
  b) there are no alternatives...which there always are in the case of bronchitis, sinus infection, ear infection, bladder infection...

According to western medicine's own Merck manual, we know the vast majority of bronchitis is viral, not bacterial. So if your M.D. irresponsibly wants to give you antibiotics, "just to make sure," ask them to culture your sputum like my pediatrician used to do when we were kids. Its a simple and cheap test.

Chinese Herbal medicine has been treating bronchitis and cough and colds and flu for abut 2500 years of written medical history. It works very very well, but has to be tailored to your specific pattern, which can vary from person to person with the same western medicine defined disease. 

Person A with bronchitis may have more dry heat with less phlegm and Person B have phlgem damp heat. Different pattern; different prescription. Ask your licensed herbal medicine doctor.

According to the American Association of Pediatric Physicians the vast majority of ear infections are viral. The standard of care is to treat the very severe pain, with painkillers, but to NOT use anti-biotics, because they don't work. On the other hand, Blue Poppy brand Bupleurum and Angelica works like a charm for the pattern of disharmony that causes most pediatric ear infections. I have had amazing results with it.

Sinus infections can be bacterial, but also fungal. In any case, Chinese herb formulas like Sun Ten brand Tong Bi, and also Qing Bi Tang work like a charm, so no need, when these herbal medicines are used correctly, according to pattern of disharmony, to use anti-biotics

Bladder infections must be differentiated from interstitial cystitis, which is a chronic inflammation without infection. But if you do have a bladder infection there are great Chinese Herbal medicine formulas like Ba Zheng San and Si Miao Wan, that, depending on the symptoms can be combined with Cranactin Extra strength Uva Ursi with Cranberry extract. At all costs huge amounts of fluid must be pushed, particularly fluids like barley water or juiced watermelon rind. The more you push fluids the quicker you will recover, as it helps flush bacteria from the walls of the bladder and dilutes them in the urine.

If you need to take antibiotics to save your life, by all means do, of course. But this irresponsible habit of dispensing them like candy is making them useless in the long run, as well as creating super bacteria, and that hurts everyone.




copyright Eyton J. Shalom, M.S., L.Ac. San Diego, CA All Rights Reserved, Use With Permission Ayurveda, Acupuncture, and Chinese Medicine in San Diego http://www.bodymindwellnesscenter.com

Comments