1 In 4 Non-Antibiotic Drugs Linked To Disrupted Gut Health

Common non-antibiotic medications like allergy pills, antidepressants, and hormone treatments may also harm beneficial gut bacteria. A study found that 28 percent of 53 tested nonantibiotic drugs promoted the growth of harmful pathogens. This disruption can leave millions vulnerable to serious intestinal infections. Researchers discovered that many non-antibiotics inhibit useful gut bacteria while allowing pathogenic microbes to thrive. Widely prescribed drugs such as fertility drugs, statins, chemotherapy drugs, and allergy medicines increased infection risk. Antihistamines, like terfenadine, weakened natural resistance to infection, leading to faster disease development and inflammation. Commonly prescribed antacids can also increase susceptibility to gut infections by encouraging an environment for harmful bacteria. Pathogenic bacteria showed greater resistance to some drugs than beneficial bacteria, suggesting these drugs may inhibit beneficial microbes. Some drugs increased the growth of harmful bacteria like Shigella flexneri and Escherichia coli. Experts stress that patients should not stop taking necessary medications and suggest targeted therapies like probiotics to restore microbiome health. However, these findings are based on laboratory experiments and may not fully reflect the complex human gut environment.