When patients visit a doctor with fever, chills, cough or diarrhoea, they may casually mention that they have already taken an antibiotic for a few days. Sometimes it is a medicine bought from a pharmacy, sometimes a tablet prescribed to a family member for similar symptoms, and sometimes leftover medication found at home. Speaking to NDTV, Dr J. Kirtana, Associate Consultant, Infectious Diseases, Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, said that this situation arises in nearly every consultation. What patients might think to be a small detail can actually be important information for the doctor because previous antibiotic use can impact which medicines may work later.

However, the bigger concern is that many people still misunderstand what antibiotics do and what antibiotic resistance means. Antibiotics work against bacterial infections, but they do not treat viral illnesses such as most colds and flu. Misusing antibiotics can lead to antimicrobial resistance (AMR), in which microorganisms become resistant to medicines used to treat them. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that one in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections globally in 2023 was resistant to antibiotic treatment.

Why Is Your Antibiotic History Important

When a doctor chooses an antibiotic, several factors have to be considered, including the likely cause of the infection, the patient's symptoms, previous treatment and the possibility of drug resistance. Therefore, knowing which antibiotics a patient has taken recently can provide useful information during diagnosis and treatment.

Dr Kirtana points out that patients often do not consider a short course of antibiotics taken for a previous illness important enough to mention. However, the name of the medicine, why it was taken and how long it was used can all matter. For example, taking an antibiotic for a few days until symptoms improve does not necessarily mean the infection has been properly treated. Similarly, taking someone else's prescription assumes that two illnesses with similar symptoms have the same cause, which may not be true.

Antimicrobial Resistance Is a Growing Problem

AMR happens when bacteria and other microorganisms change over time and no longer respond effectively to medicines designed to treat them. This can make infections harder to treat and increases the risk of severe illness, complications and death. It is important to understand the scale of the problem. WHO says that bacterial AMR was associated with more than 4.7 million deaths worldwide in 2021. In 2023, about one in three reported bacterial infections in the WHO South-East Asia and Eastern Mediterranean regions were resistant to antibiotics.

The misuse and overuse of antibiotics are important factors that are causing resistance.

Why Self-Medication Can Be Risky

Antibiotics are sometimes treated like medicines for any infection. A person with a sore throat, cough, fever or diarrhoea may assume that an antibiotic will improve recovery. But many such illnesses can be caused by viruses, and antibiotics do not work for these illnesses.

Self-medication can also mean that the wrong antibiotic, dose or duration is used. A medicine that helped one family member may not be appropriate for another person. Dr Kirtana says patients should also avoid keeping leftover antibiotics for future illnesses. Symptoms may look similar while the underlying infection is completely different. Using an old prescription without medical advice can therefore delay appropriate treatment.

What Patients Should Keep Track Of

Maintaining a simple medication record can make consultations easier and safer. Patients should ideally note:

  • Name of the antibiotic: Write down the exact name, if possible.
  • Reason for taking it: Mention the infection or symptoms for which it was prescribed.
  • Duration: Record how many days it was taken.
  • Dose: Include how often it was taken, if known.
  • Any reaction: Note problems such as a rash, diarrhoea, vomiting or other side effects.

This information can be particularly useful when seeing a new doctor or visiting a hospital for an infection.

Patients should also follow the treatment instructions given by their doctor rather than deciding by themselves when to stop or change an antibiotic. If side effects occur or there is uncertainty about the treatment, the doctor should be contacted. It is also important not to share antibiotics with family members or use leftover tablets because their symptoms appear similar. WHO says inappropriate antibiotic use is one of the main causes of AMR.

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.