Intestinal dysbacteriosis has recently been exposed about as often as ARI during an epidemic. This situation is observed all over the world. So what is intestinal dysbiosis - a real disease, or is it simply the doctor’s inability to correctly determine the root cause of disturbances in the functioning of the intestine?
A person is constantly in contact with microorganisms in the environment, some of them generally live on the skin and mucous membranes, and even inside the body. The human intestines contain the largest number of them. It has evolved so that both the human body and microorganisms benefit from such cooperation (symbiosis).
Symbiotic bacteria get the substances that they need for life, as well as a favorable living environment. At the same time, they help to digest food, synthesizing enzymes, participate in the regulation of water-salt balance, and also provide absorption in the intestines of cholesterol, hormones, bile acids. In addition, they synthesize many vital substances (vitamins, hormones, antibiotics, etc.), and neutralize a variety of toxins. They play a huge role in maintaining immunity: beneficial microorganisms displace pathogenic bacteria that enter the digestive tract, thereby preventing the colonization of extraneous microbes.
In violation of the natural balance of microorganisms (with a change in the quantitative and qualitative composition), intestinal dysbiosis develops. A great many reasons can lead to such a failure: from banal overeating or an emotionally busy day to the occurrence of severe pathology. The only difference is that if the body is healthy, the violation will be very short-term, the balance will be fully restored within a few hours. In a weakened organism, the normal microflora perishes, giving way to pathogenic colonies and fungi.
Typically, intestinal dysbiosis is the standard diagnosis associated with the occurrence of stool disorders. If the diagnosis is made, then it is necessary to prescribe appropriate therapy, designed to restore the natural balance of microorganisms. However, after such therapy, the restoration of normal microflora may be only temporary.
Intestinal dysbiosis in children has its own small feature: it is initially sterile. When the baby passes through the birth canal of the mother, colonization of the intestine begins with microorganisms. At the initial stages, this microflora is represented by various organisms that are unusual for this localization, but gradually, under the influence of growth factors of mother's milk, it is replaced by normal. That is why it is necessary to begin as early as possible and continue to breastfeed the baby as long as possible.
In older children, the causes of dysbiosis are similar to those in adults: stress, poor nutrition, taking antibiotics or other medications (for example, cytostatics), and so on.
Intestinal dysbiosis is a microbiological phenomenon that characterizes the imbalance of the intestinal microflora. This is just a symptom that accompanies any disease or a disruption in the normal functioning of the body, that is, there is an objective reason that caused the mass death of symbiont bacteria. All attempts to settle bacteria “from the outside” are doomed to failure. Since the reasons for their death did not disappear, the same thing will happen with the "new arrivals."
It is always necessary to establish the cause of dysbiosis, since the restoration of microflora is pointless without identifying and eliminating the pathology that caused it.