Everything Has a Price: The “Quick Fix” Trap for Respiratory Infections

I talk with people almost daily who explain that they had an upper respiratory issue, went to their provider the next day and got two shots and now feel better.  I often see them 2-3 weeks later and they say they had to get another round of shots as it came back.  This may even happen a third time and 6-8 weeks later they are finally getting over their symptoms.  This is pervasive.  It is also a misguided approach to an infection that will likely take 7-10 days to resolved and 9 out of 10 times it is viral and the treatment they are receiving is going to set them up for recurrent infections and prolong the length of their illness in a lot of cases.  What should we do instead is what I would like to explore and how to heal ourselves so that we can better fight off infection.  Let’s first explore what those shots entail and if there is any benefit from them and what they mean long term.

The Steroid Shot 

• When you have a viral upper respiratory infection (URI), like a common cold or the flu, your immune system is the “army” fighting to get you healthy. It uses inflammation, like a sore throat or a stuffy nose, as a signal that it’s attacking the germs.

• If you get a steroid shot (like prednisone or dexamethasone) for a cold, it might feel like a “magic button” at first because steroids are powerful anti-inflammatory drugs. They turn off the swelling and pain almost instantly. However, there is a major downside: steroids suppress your immune system.

• By calming down the inflammation, steroids tell your white blood cells to stop fighting. This basically puts your body’s defense team on a forced vacation while the virus is still inside you. Without your immune system actively hunting the virus, the infection has a chance to spread further and stay in your system much longer.

• Instead of recovering in a few days, you might find yourself sick for weeks because your “army” was told to stand down. Doctors usually avoid steroids for simple viruses because it’s better to let your body do its job, even if the symptoms are annoying for a little while.

The Antibiotic Shot

I love antibiotics as they have saved millions if not billions of lives.  They usually work miraculously well on so many infections, at least for now.  They should be targeted though to bacterial infections and use the bare minimum to get results.  Unfortunately using something like Rocephin, which is often the second shot you receive, is a very aggressive approach to something that 9 out of 10 times does not even need a weaker antibiotic.   Here are some of the reasons we should not be getting the Rocephin shot for simple upper respiratory infections

• It is like using a sledgehammer to put a nail in the wall to hang a picture frame.  It is a very specific tool for serious infections like

o Meningitis

o Neurological Lyme disease

o Infected wounds

o Gonorrhea

o Pneumonia

o Heart valve infections

o Severe urinary tract infections that have gone to kidneys

• Every time you get antibiotics you risk creating resistance in the future so that when you do have an actual infection, it will not work.  This is an ongoing problem and only getting worse as inappropriate antibiotic use has been rampant in the medical community for years with some estimates showing that the prescribing of antibiotics inappropriately 50% of the time for upper respiratory infections (cold, bronchitis, sore throat, etc.). 

• It can cause serious gut issues.  There are often cases of severe diarrhea after antibiotic shots.  There is even risk of developing clostridium difficile, a serious gut overgrowth that leads to hospitalization for diarrhea.  This is all due to killing the good guys in our gut which we will explore next.

Your Gut is Keeping Score

There is one guiding principle in my practice, make sure the gut is strong.  The reason for this is for important reasons. 

• This is where you absorb nutrients and vitamins that help keep you healthy and strong.

• The gut is where your brain gets input about how you should feel- happy or sad? The gut often decides.

• The GI tract is your primary form of detoxification.  Constipated? You are not detoxing and the bad stuff cannot be removed and is recycled.

• Finally, much of your immune system lives here.  This is where you determine the ability to fight off cancer, virus, and bacteria.  It is here that you develop most autoimmune diseases.  Now here is the big takeaway, the gut bacteria or microbiome determines how this immune system reacts and whether it attacks cancer, viruses, bacteria, or you!

How to Prevent Infections and Heal Your Gut

Taking the following supplements are a good start in helping with upper respiratory infections

• Vitamin D3 to prevent in first place, 2000-4000 IU a day is a good start.

• Zinc lozenges taken as soon as symptoms start to shorten the cold duration.

• Vitamin C -1-2 grams a day to reduce symptoms severity.

• Honey- my favorite remedy for the cough. 

• Elderberry- to help with both duration and severity of illness (only take while having symptoms-not a great preventative as causes inflammation when healthy).

While these supplements are great, probably your greatest tool is having healthy gut bacteria and healthy immune system.

Both with antibiotics and steroids, you are changing your gut microbiome. Your gut bacteria are your greatest friend or enemy. If you want a strong immune system to fight future infections, you need friends in your gut.  With getting a short-term gain of not coughing or feeling quite so bad you are creating enemies in your gut that give the wrong signals to your immune system.  Making gut bacteria be a positive force for immune health will prevent future infections and create a more vibrant mood, increase longevity and prevent chronic diseases.  It will take time, but you can create vibrant health by addressing your gastrointestinal health and avoiding unnecessary insults like steroid and antibiotic shots.