All that has been said with regard to the sulfa drugs might be repeated about antibiotics. They, too, were though to be the wonder drug for the treatment for colitis; but they, too, have left a trail of wounded and dying.
Penicillin for instance, certainly a God-given drug if ever there was one, can definitely cause poison. Aureomycin, probably one of the greatest antibiotics, in some cases causes terrific irritation of the gastrointestinal tract, particularly the colon. Even terromycin, the newest and most versatile of the antibiotics, can cause disturbances of the lower bowel.
It behooves you, therefore, not to be carried away by any gossip about how so and so cured his colitis with a few tablets of aureomycin, chloromycetin or any other of the antibiotics. These drugs definitely have a place in the treatment of infections, yes even intestinal infection; but they are sharp swords that should be wielded only by one who knows how. Certainly here is where a specialist can function to the best advantage for the patient and his friend, the family doctor. It is he who knows, by virtue of superior experience, exactly what these new drugs can and cannot do in his particular field.
