Antibiotics are medicines that kill bacteria. There are many types of antibiotics. Each works a little differently and acts on different types of bacteria. Antibiotics are powerful medicines, but they cannot cure everything. Antibiotics do not work against illnesses that are caused by a virus.
3 days ago I was placed on 2 antibiotics - Cipro and Duricef for an infection in my foot. The entire suture line somehow got infected, became tomato red, hurt, and was weeping pus. I would show you a picture but am not allowed out of bed to get the camera. We did take a culture of it and are awaiting the results. We are using a wound care product called SilverCel, a product from Johnson & Johnson that is an antimicrobial alginate dressing. It is an effective barrier to bacterial penetration and the silver in it helps reduce infections in moderate to heavy exuding wounds (meaning wounds that are draining a lot which mine was doing).
In the meantime, I have to take the antibiotics to cover all the possibilities of infections especially since this could be a hospital acquired infection. The above picture represents that although antibiotics do kill the bad bacteria, they also kill the good bacteria in the stomach and intestines and allow yeast to take over. That is what the doctor thinks happened to me with these 2 powerful spectrum antibiotics. It is called Clostridium difficile colitis which is basically a swelling and irritation of the large intestine and colon and causes diarrhea, fever, and belly cramps. All of which I have had since Tuesday 24/7.
I have been taking acidophillius capsules like crazy and eating yogurt when I can tolerate foods. I am beginning to feel a bit better today and even had something to eat this morning without heading to the bathroom. My temp of 101 is down and I am beginning to feel more like a human, just wiped out.
As for the foot: the cast is off but I am not allowed to put weight on it. The dressings are in place and changed by my husband every day then it is rewrapped and a compressive dressing applied.
In the meantime, I am working in bed when I am not sleeping.
