[Habibi]

The symptoms of sterile gut are.....unpleasant. Diarrhea, gas, etc. It’s caused by the loss of intestinal flora, due to being killed of by something (in my case a course of antibiotics). This floral “shift” causes pH shifts, and other things that your guts don’t like. Now, as to the cure....it’s more of the good bacteria that likes to live in your GI system. Now some regimens involve actually ingesting pills with those bacteria in them (poop pills?). I hardly think that would be necessary as we are continually exposed to these bugs in our daily life. Your intestines will eventually be dosed with the proper bacteria to repopulate your system.

Now remember, you asked. A gastroenterologist (GI doctor) would give a better description no doubt, but what I’ve provided is “a quick and dirty”, so to speak. ;-)

Thank goodness for those little bugs. Without them, what would we do?

[aruanan]

I hardly think that would be necessary as we are continually exposed to these bugs in our daily life. Your intestines will eventually be dosed with the proper bacteria to repopulate your system.

In earlier times this would be true since there used to be a lot of food prepared with lactobacilli. Many times, though, after having gut flora depleted by a strong antibiotic regimen, the gut is often overgrown by Clostridium difficile. This infection can be long-lived, very difficult to get rid of, and result in damage to the mucosal lining.