How to get rid of bloating from antibiotics
Many people experience undesirable effects after taking antibiotics, this is especially the case for people who have had to take multiple doses in a short time frame. It’s not uncommon for people to experience bloating after taking antibiotics, but what can you do about it? Today we will talk about how to get rid of bloating from antibiotics.
How do antibiotics cause bloating?
Antibiotics work by killing off bacteria. However, as you probably know by now, antibiotics aren’t picky about what bacteria they kill. So when this happens your healthy strains of bacteria that would normally help your body to heal can become depleted alongside the pathogenic types.
This can cause an imbalance within the gut known as dysbiosis. Dysbiosis is associated with a lot of different conditions and symptoms, and bloating is one of them.
Antibiotics killing off the good bacteria can also leave room for opportunistic bacteria to grow like C. diff. C. diff is an especially difficult bacteria because the symptoms can be mild or very dangerous. Many people suffering from C. diff end up hospitalized. Symptoms of C. diff include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal pain. The gastrointestinal inflammation can also prevent gas from being removed from the body which can be life-threatening.
So how can you prevent these things from happening? And how can you get rid of bloating caused by antibiotics?
Step 1: Keep your gut healthy
Keeping your gut healthy in the first place plays a major role in how your body responds to germs and medications. If you do the things that keep your body healthy (and therefore keep your gut healthy), you’re on the right track.
People who are mostly healthy to begin with tend to experience fewer side effects from antibiotics when they’re prescribed. Their gut microbiomes go back to normal fairly quickly as well.
However, people who struggle with gut health or have other health conditions, tend to experience worse side effects from antibiotics.
So stay as healthy as possible so you don’t need antibiotics in the first place. This includes:
- Exercising regularly
- Staying hydrated
- Eating whole foods that come from the Earth
- Limiting highly processed foods, alcohol, nicotine, and drugs where possible
- Getting enough high-quality sleep
- Being mindful and managing stress
Step 2: Prep your body for the antibiotics
Each type of antibiotic is going to react differently in your body. Make sure to read the instructions of your dose closely and follow those instructions. Some are to be taken with food and others without and this is an important thing to know.
Foods that you should make sure your body is getting before and during dosing include:
- Water
- Probiotics
- Prebiotics
- Polyphenols
Foods that contain these items help to support the balance within your gut microbiome. Probiotics are strains of helpful bacteria found in fermented foods or supplements. Prebiotics feed the healthy strains already living in your gut microbiome. When the bacteria feed on them they produce postbiotics which help to repair any damaged tissues and cells in your body. Polyphenols are great sources of prebiotics and are also great food for your gut bugs to eat.
When you know your body is going to be depleted of the good microbes it’s good to supplement with your diet for what you have the potential to lose.
Step 3: Provide your gut microbiome with the nourishment it needs to deal with antibiotic damage
While you want to focus on getting the nutrients we mentioned above, you also want to eat a healthy diet while on antibiotics.
- Drinking tea made from mint is great for reducing inflammation.
- Eating high-fiber foods helps to get you the prebiotics you need.
- Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds are all great sources of polyphenols and fiber.
- Taking Atrantil provides you with prebiotics and polyphenols while calming inflammation in the GI tract.
- Water is something we don’t usually think of as nourishing, however, it is great for improving digestion and helping the cells and bacteria function better.
All of these things feed the good bacteria so they’re ready to fight against the bad bacteria while keeping their numbers up so any that are depleted can be quickly replaced.
Keeping dysbiosis from happening is the biggest goal to prevent bloating.
Step 4: Get rid of bloating caused by antibiotics
Now, if you’ve already gone through your antibiotics and are bloated, none of the above information sounds helpful to you because you’re already beyond the preparation period, right?
Surprisingly, a lot of these suggestions to prevent bloating can help to get rid of bloating, too!
- Support your microbiome. Do this by eating foods that supplement any lost beneficial microbiota.
- Take Atrantil. Atrantil was specifically created for patients with small intestine bacterial overgrowth. This is a condition notorious for causing bloating and one of the best reports people give is less bloating while taking it! Sometimes antibiotics cause SIBO and Atrantil eradicates the archaea that can be causing the gas and bloating.
Atrantil is good to have on hand especially while taking antibiotics because it has been shown that antibiotic use can cause IBS. Also, Atrantil can replenish the good bacteria in the microbiome by providing the prebiotics and postbiotics the microbiome needs to flourish.
- Do light exercises like walking and yoga. They help you to move your body in a gentle way that circulates the blood and oxygen so digestion is easier.
- Drink mint tea to calm any discomfort in the stomach and potentially reduce the bloat.
- Avoid foods that cause you gas. If you know certain foods contribute to gas build up in your stomach, lay off of those ones for a little while.
- Drinking enough water can wash out excess gas, toxins, and other problems that can be leading to your bloating.
- Some medications can help get rid of bloating. Just be careful to try this as your last resort because sometimes they can contribute to the problem.
If bloating continues to be an issue after trying all of this, please check with your doctor. The bloating can be caused by antibiotic use, or there may be something else at play. Make sure to check with your doctor before adding any new supplements to your routine to make sure there are no negative interactions with conditions or medications you currently use.
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