The doctor's office just told me that they were not allowed to call in

[FarCenter]

39. Antibiotics screw up the digestive tract

They affect the balance of microbial life in your intestines, particularly the colon. It is estimated that you have about 10 times as many bacteria and virii than cells in your body, and it is best to keep them healthy. Once they are out of balance, it is hard to bring them back.

That is the biggest reason to avoid antibiotics unless absolutely necessary.

I'm not sure whether the restrictions on use ostensibly to reduce antibiotic resistant pathogens make sense, particularly when many countries do not implement the restrictions and when they continue to be widely used on animals globally.

It also may be that the medical and drug establishment wants to keep antibiotics in the high-margin prescription drug category instead of the low-margin over-the-counter category. Since the lethal dose of any antibiotic is pretty high, prescriptions are not required for safety reasons.