It’s that time of year again—the time of year when everyone gets the sniffles, and everyone wants an antibiotic. Even folks who know better, who know intellectually that an antibiotic isn’t going to fix their viral illness still harbor a strong suspicion that it just might help—and it couldn’t hurt, right?

Well, I’ve got two words for ya’ll: eat shit.

No, I don’t mean that as an insult, I mean it quite literally. But you’ll have to keep reading to see what I’m talking about.

Many readers are aware of the problem of antimicrobial resistance—the phenomenon whereby bacterial diseases become resistant to antibiotics, a problem exacerbated by the profligate and inappropriate use of these agents. Another serious complication of antibiotic therapy is antibiotic-associated colitis (which also goes by the names “pseudomembranous colitis”, “Clostrium difficle colitis“, or simply “C diff colitis”.) This one is nasty. As diseases go, this is one you really, really don’t want. Really. Think I’m kidding? I’ve got two more words for you: toxic megacolon.

OK, let’s get down to details.

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