Prologue
People think healing is simple: take the pill, feel better, move on. But the body is a complicated place. It keeps secrets, remembers things, reacts in ways we don’t always expect.
When Keisha caught a bad cold that turned into something worse, she just wanted it gone. The doctor handed her a familiar name in a familiar bottle: Amoxicillin.
She thought the worst was over. Until her tongue turned white.
Chapter 1: The Infection
It had started with what she thought was just a stubborn cold. But after a week of body aches, green mucus, and a deep pain in her cheeks and teeth, Keisha couldn’t ignore it anymore.
The urgent care doctor examined her sinus passages and diagnosed her with a bacterial sinus infection.
“Ten days of Amoxicillin,” the doctor said, tapping into the computer. “Standard dose. You’ll feel better fast.”
And she did. By Day 3, her headache was gone, her energy was back, and even her appetite had returned. She felt like herself again.
But Day 5 came with a surprise.
Chapter 2: The Itch That Wasn’t an Itch
Keisha noticed it first when brushing her teeth. Her tongue felt sore—raw, even. She rinsed and looked into the mirror. Her tongue had a patchy white coating near the back.
She scraped it. It came back.
By the next day, her mouth felt cottony, her taste buds were dulled, and even plain toast felt like sandpaper.
“What is this?” she muttered, Googling in the middle of the night.
Oral thrush.
She blinked. A yeast infection? In her mouth?
A tiny note on the Amoxicillin label suddenly stood out:
“May cause fungal overgrowth.”
Chapter 3: The Uninvited Guest
At her follow-up, Keisha’s suspicions were confirmed.
“Yep, it’s thrush,” her doctor said. “It happens when antibiotics kill off your normal bacteria. Without those bacteria, yeast grows freely.”
Keisha frowned. “So... I traded one infection for another?”
“In a way. But it’s manageable. We'll prescribe antifungal mouthwash. And next time you take antibiotics, take a probiotic alongside it. And eat some yogurt daily while you're on the meds.”
“Yogurt?” she said.
“Live cultures. The good bacteria. You need them to balance out what the antibiotic clears.”
Keisha nodded, realizing this wasn’t just about killing bugs—it was about maintaining balance. Her body wasn’t a battlefield; it was an ecosystem.
Chapter 4: Healing Smarter
Over the next few days, Keisha stuck to a routine:
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Antifungal mouth rinse.
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Greek yogurt with live cultures.
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A daily probiotic.
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Plenty of water.
The thrush slowly faded. Her mouth felt normal again.
She finished the Amoxicillin course, but this time with eyes wide open.
Antibiotics weren’t bad. They saved her from that nasty sinus infection. But now she understood they came with responsibilities.
She told her cousin about it over lunch.
“I thought antibiotics just healed stuff,” her cousin said.
“They do,” Keisha said, sipping her water. “But they don’t choose sides. They kill bacteria. Good or bad.”
Her cousin made a face. “So like... a wildfire to kill one weed.”
Keisha smiled. “Exactly.”
Epilogue
Weeks later, Keisha passed by the pharmacy aisle and paused at the probiotics section. She picked up a bottle and held it in her hand.
A new kind of knowledge. A quiet kind of power.
Her body had spoken. She had learned to listen.
And next time medicine was needed, she’d be ready—not just to take the pill, but to take care of the whole of her health.
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