Overuse of antibiotics is a public health problem

Q: I borrowed some antibiotics from my sister when I had a sore throat. When I told my doctor, he got angry. Is he just mad because I didn’t call him, or was it really a bad idea? -- Alma R., Milwaukee

A: No one should take antibiotics that have not been prescribed for a bacterial infection diagnosed by a doctor. Unfortunately, it’s increasingly common in the U.S. A study from Baylor College of Medicine found that because of long waits at doctor offices and clinics, the cost of health care, embarrassment about contracting a sexually transmitted disease and not being able to leave work to see a doctor, many people across all socioeconomic and demographic groups look for under-the-table ways to obtain antibiotics.

Where do folks get them? At local grocery and pet stores (you can buy them one at a time!), online (do you really know what’s in those pills?) and from family and friends who have “leftovers.”

Such unprescribed use of antibiotics is an important contributor to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, but it’s not the only one. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 47 million antibiotic prescriptions each year are dispensed unnecessarily from doctor’s offices and emergency departments, often for the common cold or flu, sore throats, and sinus and ear infections that are caused by viruses and don’t respond to antibiotics. Also, approximately 80% of antibiotics sold in the U.S. are for use in food-producing animals, and that also fuels the rise of superbugs.

The risks are real. If you skip the doc and have an infection that isn’t properly treated, it can lead to serious complications. Plus, antibiotic resistance means once-manageable infections become potentially lifethreatening. Today 35% of Streptococcus pneumoniae is resistant to ampicillin!

So do your part to protect your health and fight antibiotic resistance: Never take an antibiotic without a prescription, and don’t ask your doctor to give you an antibiotic without knowing that a bacterial infection is the cause of your illness.