Antibiotics may temporarily affect blood sugar, glucose metabolism

Our bodies have lots of tiny helpful bacteria living inside our tummies, called the gut microbiome.

These helpful bacteria do many jobs, like helping our bodies use sugar for energy.

When we get sick, doctors sometimes give us medicine called antibiotics.

Antibiotics are great at killing bad germs, but they can also kill some helpful bacteria.

When helpful bacteria are reduced for a little while, our blood sugar levels can change.

For most healthy people, these changes are small and not a big deal.

But people who already have trouble controlling their blood sugar, like people with diabetes, might notice bigger changes.

The good news is that these changes usually go away as the helpful bacteria grow back.

Also, being sick can raise blood sugar on its own, so it can be hard to know whether the medicine or the illness caused the change.