Do you have chronic diarrhea after antibiotics and have you been told you have C. difficile infection? Even when you take antibiotics, do you have flare-ups of watery diarrhea with a characteristic foul odor, or blood or pus in your stools? Are you tired all the time? Do you have abdominal pain, fever, nausea and weight loss?
You are not alone. Researchers estimate that about half a million Americans suffer from antibiotic-associated diarrhea caused by the microbe C. difficile each year.
C. difficile is also known as Clostridium difficile, CDF, C. diff, pseudomembranous colitis; Antibiotic-associated colitis, necrotizing colitis. Some researchers and doctors call C. difficile a superbug because it causes 30,000 deaths a year in the United States alone. The alarming fact is that antibiotics cannot kill the resistant species of this microbe.
Ten to fifteen percent of people have this microbe in their gut with no obvious symptoms. It is known that healthy people generally do not contract C. difficile. A healthy person is protected from this superbug.
C. difficile typically occurs in people after treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics and often strikes those with compromised immune systems. Victims of this super germ are the elderly, young children, people after surgeries, radiation, chemotherapy, some medications, alcoholics, patients with AIDS, etc. Before taking the broad spectrum antibiotics, they felt reasonably well.
Doctors and researchers agree that C. difficile infection most often occurs after antibiotics have destroyed the friendly intestinal flora. The human gastrointestinal tract is the haven for more than 400 species of microorganisms. Most of them are friendly intestinal flora. Analogous to the good tenants, they live in our bodies and “pay the rent”.
These friendly microorganisms help us digest food, remove toxins and cholesterol, boost our immune system, and have anti-cancer properties. The vital role of a friendly gut flora is that it controls the growth of so-called opportunistic infections. Opportunistic infections are microbes, Candida yeast, parasites, etc. They grow when given the opportunity to grow; Usually it happens when antibiotics destroy a friendly flora.
C. difficile is a common opportunistic infection that lives in the human body at low levels. There are many spores of this microorganism in water, air, food, hands and the environment. Sick people release many of these spores. Researchers found that up to 20 percent of people who are hospitalized and up to 50 percent of people in nursing homes carry C. difficile in their feces. Despite this, many of them do not have diarrhea or other symptoms. Because of this; the hospitals and nursing homes are the most contaminated places with possible outbreaks with C. difficile”.
Conventional treatment with antibiotics and antifungals does not protect against recurrence and leads to the development of the antibiotic-resistant forms of Clostridial. The economic burden of this disease was estimated at US$3.2 billion last year, and the number of sufferers is growing every year.
It sounds strange to some people that alternative medicine can be useful for this serious medical problem. Chronic diarrhea is nothing new in medicine; it has been with humans for centuries, long before the era of antibiotics. Non-drug, natural methods have a long history of treating chronic diarrhea.
Let’s look at my personal experience. For example, a dentist prescribed strong antibiotics to a young woman. Within three weeks, she developed watery diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, and fever. The doctor ran tests and was diagnosed with C. difficile colitis. She was constantly treated with antibiotics, but still had several relapses. She had mucus and blood in her stools, she lost weight, and felt terribly tired and depressed. After six months of suffering, she decided to take a non-drug, natural approach. Her doctor was supportive and allowed her to stop taking antibiotics for a while.
The goal of their alternative treatment was to restore the natural mechanism that protects healthy people from opportunistic infections, fights Candida yeast overgrowth and SIBO small intestine bacterial overgrowth, and intestinal inflammation. It had to restore their friendly intestinal flora and proper digestion, boost their immunity and fill in the lack of vital nutrients.
She started Anti-Candida, an alkaline diet. She took a large amount of different human strains, live probiotics. She drank healing mineral water made from real Karlovy Vary thermal salt and also a lot of herbal teas. This young woman has had numerous sessions of colon hydrotherapy and acupuncture with relaxation. She took minerals, vitamins, essential fatty acids, etc.
To the great surprise of her doctor, her condition improved dramatically within three weeks. Her bowel movements were normal, she gained weight and began to work. Her tests confirmed she was free of Clostridia toxins. There are no recurrences for five months afterwards.
Healing mineral water is unknown to many Americans, even medical professionals. In contrast, European doctors often recommend drinking healing mineral water for digestive and metabolic problems. Water from hot mineral springs in the small Czech town of Karlovy Vary has been used for centuries. For people who couldn’t visit this place, geyser water was vaporized there for 250 years.
Dissolving genuine Karlovy Vary thermal salt in clear water gives the opportunity to use this medicinal water at home. The Karlovy Vary medicinal mineral water has been well researched by European doctors. Minerals, bicarbonate, and trace elements in the water alone are beneficial for people with chronic diarrhea.
Water is a natural alkalizing agent; thus, it improves the functioning of the liver and pancreas. For more details on how acid kills the pancreas and destroys digestion, see my articles and my eBook Healthy Pancreas, Healthy You. Karlovy Vary medicinal mineral water promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria in the intestines, reduces irritation and inflammation, normalizes bowel movements in chronic diarrhea.
For chronic diarrhea, washing out toxins and waste products through the use of enemas has long been part of human history. Currently, sophisticated equipment and well-trained staff make colon hydrotherapy a safe and effective non-drug approach to chronic diarrhea. Clean and purified water flushes C. difficile and its toxins from the colon walls; Therefore, a healthy environment allows the beneficial bacteria to multiply.
Our ancestors sold herbs and spices at the price of gold. They knew that spices not only improve the taste of food, but also prevent diarrhea (food toxins). Some authors believe that spices save humanity from epidemic gastrointestinal diseases. I think these researchers are right. I firmly believe that the healing values of spices and spicy herbs depend on their unique ability to destroy harmful bacteria and maintain a friendly gut flora. My practical evidence of using herbs for chronic diarrhea supports this idea.
For now, thousands of patients with C. difficile are using the common therapeutic approach “find and destroy” by powerful antibiotics after antibiotics. Unfortunately, even the strongest antibiotics cannot completely solve this problem. Finally, the patient with antibiotic-associated chronic diarrhea caused by Clostridia difficile has a choice to restore the natural process that keeps healthy people away from this super bug.
Non-drug methods of alternative medicine work together with our body’s own defense system and actually support it. The best result can be achieved through close cooperation between doctor, patient, their relatives and a knowledgeable, licensed naturopath.
The information contained herein is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This information is not to be used to replace the services or direction of a physician or qualified health practitioner.
Thanks to Peter Melamed Ph.D.
