Antibiotic treatment for arthritis is prescribed for both main types of arthritis: Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis.
It is absurd and harmful to use antibiotics for the former, and foolish and harmful to use them for the latter.
In the case of 'reactive arthritis', where arthritis symptoms are caused by an initial bacterial infection, antibiotics are (probably) necessary to stop the infection, but prescribing antibiotics months and years down the line because MAYBE there is still some infection in there causing symptoms....that is a misguided attempt to fix a problem that it can't fix.
The vast majority of arthritis symptoms have NOTHING to do with bacterial infection, and it's a terrible idea for a doctor to prescribe antibiotics to those people.
Osteoarthritis is a 'physical' issue where the various factors of the Tendonitis dynamic have caused muscles to operate poorly and the joint to get compressed, so the interior of the joint 'grinds' on itself.
Osteoarthritis Symptoms exist without any bacterial infection, and thus antibiotics cause no beneficial function in the body, only harmful.
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is more a 'systemic' issue, meaning systemic issues are causing the local joint pain.
RA happens without any bacterial infection. Thus again, antibiotics can cause no beneficial function int he body, only harmful.
If there is no bacterial infection, why do doctors prescribe antibiotics?
That is a great question, and I don't have a good answer.
One could theorize that it's because doctors are pharmaceutical-oriented practitioners, and so every problem needs a pill, regardless if that pill has any chance of fixing the problem.
One could theorize that doctors don't care enough to take the time to figure out WHY arthritis symptoms occur, so they don't understand what they're dealing with, and that pills are an easy way to have their patients think that the doctor is doing something good and intelligent for them. Unfortunately in this case antibiotics are neither good nor intelligent.
One could wonder why a doctor that follows 'science based medicine' would give an antibiotic when there is no bacterial infection...but you really should just ask your doctor why.
And then see how poor is the logic in their response.
Poor gut ecology is largely to blame for rheumatoid arthritis.
Adding poor gut ecology to someone with osteoarthritis is just a bad move with no upsides.
No bacterial infection, no antibiotic. Period.
If you have an active bacterial infection and one of the symptoms is joint pain and inflammation of the joint, then antibiotics can be a good idea. Possibly even necessary.
Infection is bad. Especially when it's in a joint.
But in that scenario, you're being given antibiotics to counter the bacterial infection, not the arthritis symptoms.
You're getting medical attention for an medical issue. You're fighting an infection, as you should.
But that's not the case in the second category...when you HAD an active infection in the past but don't now.
If you don't currently have an infection, but do have arthritis symptoms, doctors will often go with an explanation of 'Well you probably still have some infection and it's affecting your joints', so they give you antibiotics on the assumption that A. It will help and B. you have a bacterial infection.
It is frightening how often doctors prescribe antibiotics without confirming a bacterial infection via some kind of test.
If you don't currently have an infection, but do have arthritis symptoms, then your symptoms are not from the infection.
And so antibiotics won't fix the cause of the arthritis symptoms.
For An Antibiotic Treament For Arthritis, Never Ever Use A Fluoroquinolone Antibiotic Like Levaquin Or Cipro!
Unless your life is at stake, never ever ever use a fluoroquinolone antibiotic like Levaquin or Cipro to treat arthritis.
If you have a LIFE THREATENING infection that is also causing joint pain, ok. But if you think your arthritis symptoms are bad...wait until you get Levaquin Side Effects.
Fluoroquinolone side effects, if you get them, are bad bad news.
Tendons and joint structures can (literally) fall apart. Anxiety, brain fog, and/or dementia. Muscle and joint and tendon pain. Etc, etc.
Bad news. And doctors are now prescribing it for minor issues like acne. Crazy!
Point being, if you do use an antibiotic for arthritis, don't use a fluoroquinolone class antibiotic, like Avelox, Ciprofloxacin, Levofloxacin, Norfloxacin, etc.
If you regret it, you'll REALLY regret it.
If Not Antibiotic Treatment For Arthritis, Then What?
If you don't have an active infection (and you don't know unless you've been tested) then antibiotics are a no no. Not only a waste of time, but harmful.
But if you have arthritis symptoms, you want to do something to get rid of them, right?
In which case, you need to ask yourself WHY you have symptoms.
Symptoms don't just show up out of the blue for no reason.
You need to know the answer to the question What Is Arthritis?
So you need to know the Causes of Osteoarthritis.
You need to know What Causes Rheumatoid Arthritis?
And you need to know how Tendonitis and the Pain Causing Dynamic cause joint pain.
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