Posted by I was going to let the latest Huffington Post idiocy about antibiotics causing cancer go unremarked since Orac slaughtered it, but then I read the comments and became mad. Really Mad. First, this from the book promotion masquerading as an article:
And many people still believe that antibiotics are helpful; we’ve all heard stories of mothers and patients coming close to demanding them. But did you know that antibiotics can cause a great deal of long-term harm in the body? Let me explain…
Yes, we know they can in rare circumstances. That’s why they should be used only to treat bacterial infection. But did you know that untreated sepsis infection can cause organ failure and death? (among other things) The last I checked, these qualify as “a great deal of long-term harm in the body”–particularly that death thing. I’ve heard that’s really bad for you.
Ok, onto the enemas. In the comments, the author writes:
Hi jhNY, you are right, body cleansing is not currently part of the standard medical repertoire. Actually, it used to be… Enemas were common practice in American health care until about 60 years ago, when drugs and surgery made a conscious push forward.
Of course, leechcraft was once part of the standard medical repertoire too. Because if I had a raging fever due to a bloodstream infection and was on the verge of organ failure, I would definitely want an enema. I’m sure that would help.
But there’s more:
But many more naturally oriented practitioners feel that it’s pretty much impossible to eliminate problems caused by chemicals and toxins in the body (just look at standard diets and lifestyles), with treatments that add more chemicals to the body. Manage, perhaps… But often with other undesirable side effects, and rarely complete elimination. You don’t need to look too far to see this…
Actually, antibiotics are usually very successful at treating bacterial infections. I don’t know much about ‘toxins.’ Or evil pixies. And while we’re on the subject of bacteria, why does she keep repeating that bacteria “eat” other bacteria and fungi? There are competitive interactions (not that this author would have any idea what a bacteriocin is), but “eating?”
Why on earth does Huffington print this shit? This is as stupid as flat-earthism. It’s probably dumber than creationism.
No more Huffington Post. Ever.
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