Each of us has had to take antibiotics. And many during or after the course of treatment with these drugs began to feel a bitter taste in the mouth. By the way, almost every instruction for this type of medicine warns of the possibility of such a side effect. Why does such a problem arise? What to do when bitterness appears in the mouth and what can you drink to avoid it? We will try to answer all these questions later in the article.
About antibiotics
Antibiotics in medicine are comparable to "heavy artillery", because, despite their apparent effectiveness, they can have a lot of contraindications and side effects.
Doctors, not without reason, consider antibacterial agents to be one of the most effective drugs, because they are able to suppress the growth of pathogenic microorganisms and thusto ensure the patient's recovery. But uncontrolled intake of these drugs or the wrong dosage prescribed by a doctor can lead to serious he alth problems, which, by the way, will manifest themselves not only as bitterness in the mouth. After antibiotics in the human body, the growth of both pathogenic and beneficial microflora is suppressed, resulting in dysbacteriosis; there is a violation of the biliary tract and a strong decrease in immunity.
Possible causes of bitterness in the mouth
The reasons for the appearance of bitterness in the mouth may be different. And most often they are associated with a violation of the liver or gallbladder. So, bitterness in the morning after eating can be caused by acid reflux, gastritis, cholelithiasis, or dysfunction of the biliary tract. Often, the named symptom also appears with various lesions of the duodenum (inflammation, ulceration, the appearance of tumors).
It should be noted that all of the listed diseases, as a rule, even before treatment with antibacterial drugs, the patient already has (to one degree or another), and taking these drugs only provokes their exacerbation and causes various manifestations of the pathological condition, including including bitterness in the mouth after antibiotics.
Why taking antibiotics causes bitterness
as already mentioned, the described drugs are potent drugs, and their metabolism (transformation)occurs mainly in the liver. Therefore, it is not surprising that this organ is the first to be targeted by the effects of their main active substances. And if the liver was already affected by some kind of ailment, then the bitterness in the mouth from antibiotics will definitely appear in the patient.
The fact is that tissue damage in the liver calls for a violation of its detoxification capabilities, and the antibiotic is perceived by it as a source of toxic substances, which as a result provokes an aggravation of all existing problems.
The patient, in addition to bitterness, may develop jaundice, fever, urine becomes dark, and feces, on the contrary, become discolored. Violation of the accumulation of glycogen (glucose, which is peculiarly conserved in the body and nourishes the muscles) causes weakness and apathy.
Therefore, if you already have some problems, be sure to check with your doctor how much an antibiotic can affect liver function. Particularly dangerous in this regard are drugs such as Levofloxacin or Moxifloxacin.
Bitterness in the mouth after antibiotics: what to do?
Regardless of how antibiotics can affect the liver, taking them in some situations is vital, which is why doctors decide to prescribe these drugs. Although because of this, the symptoms listed above, including bitterness in the mouth from antibiotics, can, alas, become your companions for some time. What to do?
As a rule, during the course of treatment with these medicines, the patienta sparing diet is shown, as well as taking hepatoprotectors - medicines that help the liver in the process of combating intoxication caused by antibacterial drugs and increase its cellular potential.
How to take antibiotics correctly
In order to reduce the risk of side effects and not feel bitterness in the mouth after antibiotics, you must follow the mandatory rules for taking these medicines.
- To maintain a constant level of the drug in the body, you should take the drugs strictly at the appointed time.
- Take pills only with non-carbonated drinking water or weak tea.
- After finishing the course of taking antibiotics, after consulting with your doctor, you can take probiotics that restore the dead microflora in the digestive tract or drink yogurt.
- Eat an appropriate diet (do not eat spicy, fatty or fried foods).
- Give up alcohol.
- Do not take antibiotics with meals (only one hour before or one hour after).
- Never prescribe antibiotics yourself!
How to understand what caused bitterness
If you still have a strong bitterness in your mouth after taking antibiotics, you should immediately inform your doctor about it. He will refer you to a gastroenterologist to clarify the causes of an unpleasant symptom. In this, the specialist will be helped by gastroscopy (collection of inflamed tissues with a probe).stomach). Thanks to this diagnostic procedure, the doctor will be able to detect the existing inflammation or tissue modification.
Often, less informative methods are used to make a diagnosis - ultrasound or x-ray of the stomach, which, nevertheless, can also help identify existing pathological processes. In such cases, blood sampling for clinical and biochemical analysis will also provide important information.
Only as a result of the above studies can it be reliably established how serious the causes of bitterness are, and whether only the abolition of the medication taken will be sufficient to get rid of it.
How to get rid of bitterness in the mouth
Treatment of bitterness in the mouth, unfortunately, may not be possible without eliminating the disease that caused this symptom, but most often a small therapeutic effect is enough. It is carried out under the supervision of a doctor, and he also corrects the stages of this treatment, for its greater effectiveness.
For this, the patient is first of all helped to cleanse the intestines of pathogenic flora. For these purposes, the appointment of medicinal herbs that have an antibacterial effect is prescribed (these include anise, blackberry, calamus, etc.). In addition to them, it is also supposed to take adsorbing agents (activated carbon, Almagel, etc.). Then comes the turn of procedures that normalize bowel function, for which, as a rule, vegetable bitterness (calamus, yellow gentian, etc.) is used.
And the last step, which helps to completely solve the question howget rid of bitterness in the mouth”, usually becomes “settlement” of the intestines with beneficial microflora. For this, lactobacilli and bifidobacteria are used in medicine, creating optimal conditions for the normal functioning of the intestine. They are found in preparations called probiotics.
Once again about how to avoid bitterness in the mouth
From the above, we can draw unambiguous conclusions:
- Most often, in order to get rid of the risk of bitterness in the mouth during antibiotic treatment, it is enough to strictly adhere to the prescriptions and recommendations of the doctor and follow a special diet.
- And if bitterness and other side effects still begin to bother, then the doctor in such cases reviews the prescription, refusing the drugs that cause the named reaction, or replacing them with suitable analogues.
- To help those who have felt the negative effects of the drug, hepatoprotectors that support liver function and probiotics that restore microflora can come to the rescue.
In cases where the bitterness in the mouth after antibiotics does not go away even after the end of the course of taking the drugs, you should urgently undergo an examination to identify the diseases that caused the described symptom. And you can’t delay with this, as the problems that appear can be very serious!
