Doctors prescribe antibiotics to people who have specific bacterial infections. But not all bacterial infections require antibiotics, and some patients improve without taking antibiotics.
In general, antibiotics are prescribed to treat serious conditions, including sepsis and pneumonia resulting from infections. Additionally, patients who have an increased risk of infection are often prescribed antibiotics as a preventative measure — typically those who require surgery, who are experiencing end-stage renal disease, or who are recovering from chemotherapy.
But there’s a darker side to antibiotics that you may not be aware of, and that is that individuals who self-prescribe over-the-counter (OTC) antibiotics, or nonprescription antibiotics, share their prescription medication or use old prescribed antibiotics to treat current illnesses. If you’ve done or thought about doing this, you need to understand the consequences of using OTC, shared, and outdated antibiotics.
What Are Over-the-Counter Antibiotics?
Antibiotics are important drugs worldwide, but even more so in developing parts of the world where infectious conditions run amuck and result in an unnecessary number of deaths. In places like Ethiopia, it’s common to find over-the-counter antibiotics being sold in drug retail outlet centers. One issue with this is that overusing and misusing these antibiotic medications can cause antibiotic-resistant bacteria to form, leading to a decrease in the effectiveness of antibiotics.
In Ethiopia alone, 94.4% of drug stores, which amounted to 17 out of 18, were able to obtain nonprescription antibiotics and then sell them to customers without a prescription.
Antibiotics play a major role in saving lives, but when improperly used, they can lead to side effects. Even antibiotics used properly can result in common side effects like diarrhea and nausea, leading to other problems down the road, especially if the antibiotic is continually used improperly. The most significant harm resulting from the overuse and misuse of antibiotics is the resistance that bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics when people use them too often.
As a result, several illnesses cannot be treated as effectively as they once were. Some illnesses that have become resistant to antibiotics include strains of streptococcus and staphylococcus.
To combat this, many countries are becoming more vigilant in their efforts to make sure antibiotics are prescription only and prescribed to patients who actually need them.
Antibiotics should be prescribed by doctors only, and you should avoid OTC antibiotics.
Risks of Sharing Prescription Medication
Sharing prescription medications come with several risks, in terms of both health and legalities. First, you should understand that your prescription is made just for you. Your doctor prescribed you medication based on your specific weight and condition. Your prescription may not treat the condition of the person you’re wanting to share your medication with.
Even if the other person has similar symptoms, the same symptoms can be caused by different illnesses. An example of this would be a cough. While a cough is often associated with a simple cold or allergies, it can actually be caused by something more serious, like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or congestive heart failure.
Additionally, if the dosage is incorrect for the person you intend to share your medication with, it could cause adverse side effects. Your prescription medication is unique to your body weight and the severity of your disease. Sharing an incorrect dosage with another person can increase the risk of serious side effects.
Many people think about sharing their pain medications and opioids, but this is one of the most dangerous cases of sharing prescription medications. Opioids are addictive, and by sharing your prescription pain medication with someone else, you may open them up to facing addiction. Additionally, pain medication is often stronger than we realize, and if it’s shared with someone it wasn’t prescribed to, it can have serious consequences, like a slowed respiration rate and, at worse, death.
Finally, sharing prescription medication is illegal at the federal level. Sharing your prescriptions could result in you getting fined or arrested, losing your job, and more.
Risks of Using Old Antibiotics
Even using old antibiotics can be risky. Many people find themselves holding on to old prescription medication — either because they figure they might need it again or they’re unsure of how to properly dispose of them. But the expiry date exists for a reason. Much like with food, the quality of medication past its expiration decreases. You wouldn’t want to drink expired milk, would you?
Expired medication becomes less effective over time and won’t be very helpful if you were to get sick again in the future. These medications change chemically over time, and their strength decreases as a result. Some expired medications are even susceptible to bacterial growth. Taking expired medications has led to the development of more severe diseases and antibiotic resistance.
One example of an expired drug causing adverse effects is the drug Cipro, which is often used to treat urinary tract infections. While the medication is safe and effective when used correctly, it can become toxic when it’s expired. In fact, as it ages, it breaks down into compounds toxic to the liver and that turn into carcinogenic, or cancer-causing, substances.
In sum, once the expiration date has passed, you should no longer use the medication and dispose of it immediately. The medication’s label often explains how to dispose of the medicine, but if not, there are drug take-back programs that dispose of unwanted, expired, and unused medication for you. Not only does this prevent you from using these risky medications again, but it also prevents them from falling into the wrong hands.