For me, the most interesting part of this article was recognizing that you can actually indirectly die from taking antibiotics. Of course sometimes you need to take it, but it shouldn't be the default thing to do when you just have a cold.
Many C. diff patients have recent history of dental procedures or surgeries. Dentist's often prescribe an inappropriate amount of ciprofloxacin to the patient. The cipro is pretty broadspectrum and knocks out majority of the gut flora but leaves the C.diff in tact (~10% of population have c.diff in their gut but it doesn't case harm). When they finish their 2 doses of cipro (inappropriate dosing by the dentist) the C.diff is left with this nice clean gut, free of competition. The c.diff flourishes and causes CDI(CDAD) C.diff Infection (C.diff associated diarrhea).
You can directly die from taking antibiotics too if you have a bad reaction to them. Given the rise of antibiotic resistant bacterial and the lack of new antibiotics being developed, death directly or indirectly caused by antibiotics may soon be a problem of the past.
It shouldn't ever be the thing to do when you just have a cold, seeing as a cold is a viral infection. If you have an illness caused by a bacterial infection, then antibiotics are an option.
