Today someone said that after a course of antibiotics, the white blood cells are not or little active for a longer period of time, so your resistance is lowered. I recently had two types of antibiotics four times a day for five days because of a perforated appendix (cecum). Does this mean I am now more vulnerable to infections? I am a 53 year old woman.
wife (53)
Joris Bartstra, journalist with a medical diploma
No, that’s bullshit. Antibiotics affect bacteria, not white blood cells. If they do anything with the immune system, it’s because they can eradicate certain bacteria, for example in the gut, leaving more nutrients for other bacteria or yeasts. As a result, you can sometimes get diarrhea after a course, but the intestinal flora is usually restored very quickly. Antibiotics do nothing to the immune system itself.
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