[FreedomFiber]

When you have a population of beneficial microbes, they push the harmful ones out. The ones that cause acne, odor, etc...

When you take antibiotics it kills bacteria nonselectively, good and bad. This can lead to an overgrowth of harmful bacteria when you stop taking the antibiotics. Also good luck when the strain of bacteria you're fighting become resistant to the antibiotic you're taking... Maybe then you'll reconsider microbiomics.

[jrabone]

Your fecal coliforms will kill other people, simply because they're yours, not theirs. They'll kill you if they don't stay in the gut (mine tried, along with a carbapenem-resistant strain of streptococcus introduced via a central line).

[FreedomFiber]

"A regime of concentrated AO+ caused a hundredfold decrease of Propionibacterium acnes"

The way I see it, both methods (using detergents or probiotics) are achieving the same effect: a decrease in harmful bacteria. The only difference is when probiotics are used, there is a lessened chance of a harmful microbe overgrowth.

[jrabone]

I can't reply directly to "rosser" due to max comment depth, but fecal transplants don't generally involve introducing gut bacteria to anywhere other than the gut.

[rosser]

Then why are physicians performing fecal transplants?

[Fomite]

Fecal transplants are typically done with stool either very similar to your own in terms of the microbial makeup (preferably a family member that lives with you) or with synthetic, cultured stool that has been made free of pathogens.

It's still not a fun procedure, and the side effects are unpleasant. They're just less unpleasant than recurrent C. difficile.

[ekianjo]

> When you have a population of beneficial microbes, they push the harmful ones out. The ones that cause acne, odor, etc...

What is your basis to say that the ones that cause odor are harmful ? It's a pure hypothesis.

[FreedomFiber]

Define harmful however you like. Some people might think smelling bad is detrimental to their well-being.

[keithflower]

Please stop spreading harmful misinformation.

Antibiotics do not and never have destroyed "all bacteria".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_antibiotics

[FreedomFiber]

*Most kill nonselectively. Thanks for the nitpicking correction. My point still stands.

[keithflower]

There is nothing "nitpicking" about my correction of your misinformation (which you've now edited), and no, your point doesn't stand.

Taking an antibiotic does not kill ALL bacteria in a host, which is what you said before you edited your post. Nor can it be accurately said that antibiotics kill "nonselectively", whatever that means.

As a physician, when I've prescribed an antibiotic for your streptococcal infection or your pneumonia or whatever, you haven't been at any particular risk for "bacterial overgrowth" (whatever that means), "acne", or even "odor". But please feel free to link to some package inserts that list the relative risks and data for "bacterial overgrowth", "acne", and "odor" from popularly prescribed antibiotics.

And no, you're not at risk for "bacterial overgrowth" from washing with soap and water, of all things.

Antibiotics ARE overused. Antibiotic soaps are silly. Both help create antibiotic-resistant strains.

But scaring people who might benefit from antibiotics with misinformation about risks from "bacterial overgrowth" and simply washing with soap and water, while pushing "probiotics" puts people in about the same camp as the anti-vaccine anti-science crowd.

This entire N=1 post is laughable psuedo-science, which appears to have brought out the rest of the "reason from anecdote" crowd.

[FreedomFiber]

Wow, you've managed to make so many false assumptions about my original comment that I won't even bother to correct them all. Did you even read it thoroughly enough to comprehend my point? I guess not. Also have you ever heard of Broad-spectrum antibiotics? Yeah, those are nonselective.

Here are a few good links to read up on: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110419214734.ht... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gut_flora#Effects_of_antibiotic... http://www.naturalnews.com/042769_antibiotics_healthy_gut_fl...