• The most important period during which intestinal bacterial inhibition should be maintained is the period of early healing, which coincides with the period of paralytic ileus when nothing can be taken orally. When an intestinal antiseptic is administered, the doses should not be spaced more than four hours apart, because the effective agent will be swept out of the small intestine. Unsustained suppression of bacterial growth favors the outgrowth of the resistant organisms. Because intestinal surroundings are ideal for the continued growth of bacteria, antibiotic agents must be maintained in unusually high concentrations.