'I'm a GP – three reasons you shouldn't rely on antibiotics and 'trust your body' instead'

Antibiotics can be a godsend when it comes to battling certain kinds of infection. However, an NHS GP has issued a stark warning against using them all the time and encouraged sufferers to 'trust their bodies' instead.

Dr Renee Hoenderkamp (@drreneehoenderkamp) regularly shares health advice with her TikTok followers, and her latest tip is one she believes its important for everyone to take note of. "There are three reasons I rarely take antibiotics," she began in a video. "I have a focus on natural health and ensuring we avoid medication wherever we possibly can."

Despite some people thinking they are the "answer to everything," Dr Hoenderkamp insists they should only be used when fighting particular illnesses. Here are three reasons to think twice about reaching for antibiotics every time you're sick.

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Trust your body

"I see this in my work every day," she explained. "Most people do not need an antibiotic - what they need is to trust in their body that it will do the job it's designed to do and kill the virus or bacteria that has infected it."

Dr Hoenderkamp claims the reason people "demand" antibiotics that they "don't understand" that some ailments "take time" to improve at their own accord. "When you've got a cold you're looking at 10 to 14 days for it to slowly get better," she added.

"And the cough that comes afterwards can last for six to eight weeks quite naturally, but your body will do it and that's really important."

In addition, some illnesses such as those caused by viral infections cannot be cured with antibiotics. The NHS website advises: "Antibiotics do not work for viral infections such as colds and flu, and most coughs. When it comes to antibiotics, take your doctor's advice on whether you need them or not. Antibiotic resistance is a big problem – taking antibiotics when you do not need them can mean they will not work for you in the future."

Your gut microbiome

Dr Hoenderkamp stressed this is the "most important part of your body" and keeping it healthy is paramount. "It's all the friendly bacteria that lives in your gut where your immune system cells also reside," she continued.

She added that 80% of those cells are found here and by taking an antibiotic, you "wipe these out" and there is evidence to show these can take between three months and two years to regenerate. "So it's really, really critical you don't wipe them out if you can help it," Dr Hoenderkamp noted.

In addition, whilst they're regenerating you become "more susceptible" to other infections anyway. "Your gut health dictates everything from mood, depression, connection to Parkinson's, irritable bowel, Crohn's Disease - there are so many things and your gut is the saviour - look after it as antibiotics do not," the GP suggested.

Deputy Chief Pharmaceutical Officer and NHS England’s Healthcare Acquired Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance Lead, Dr Bruce Warner, warns in an NHS blog post: "Antibiotics can harm the good bacteria in your gut, so protect yourself and your good gut bacteria and do not use antibiotics unless your doctor or healthcare professional tells you they are really needed."

Side effects

One in three people suffer antibiotic side effects, Dr Hoenderkamp claimed in her final pointer. "In the simplest form, this can include diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, a skin rash and some of those can be deadly," she warned.

According to the doctor, 1.2 million people worldwide died in 2019 died from antibiotic-resistant infections. Closing she emphasised: "Of course there's a place for antibiotics, but most of the time there's no need - so don't take a medication if you don't need it.

"I don’t take antibiotics, if I need anything I would use colloidal silver," one of Dr Hoenderkamp revealed in reply. "Eat mounts of fruit, veg and no processed food. Great to have a doctor that gives this advice."

A second added: "I have been reading about gut health. Apparently it’s a massive thing. It will help massively if you look after your gut!" A third person shared: "Taking antibiotics caused me huge problems with with my gut. Only just digging myself out the issues it caused me."

Whilst a fourth agreed with the advice, writing: "I've always resisted antibiotics and rarely get coughs or colds your so right, put simply, build up your own immune system. Great advice."

One TikTok user appeared to doubt the doctor's advice, however, suggesting "if you leave a UTI [urinary tract infection] you can finish up with sepsis or a kidney infection. "Not strictly true," Dr Hoenderkamp penned in response. "Of course that is a potential complication but most UTIs will self resolve with conservative measures. Having said that, as rarely as I prescribe, UTI is my most common reason."

With regards to side effects, the NHS website adds: "As with any medicine, antibiotics can cause side effects. Most antibiotics do not cause problems if they're used properly and serious side effects are rare. The common side effects include: being sick; feeling sick; bloating and indigestion; and diarrhoea.

"Some people may have an allergic reaction to antibiotics, especially penicillin and another type of antibiotic called cephalosporins. In very rare cases, this can lead to a serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis), which is a medical emergency."