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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 The latter number is worrisome, because patients shouldn't have any antibiotics left over after a prescribed course of treatment, Goldsworthy said. In addition, he said, overuse of antibiotics is contributing to the rise of germs that are immune to many drugs.
"Don't share antibiotics," Goldsworthy advised. "You shouldn't have any leftover. You should have finished them all yourself."
In some cases, however, sharing drugs may not be very risky, Goldsworthy said, and is done for "pretty reasonable reasons."
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"I happen to share some painkillers, because I have a bad toothache, I'm sneezing, and my mother-in-law has a prescription medicine while we're on a trip," he explained.
In general, he said," people share for a variety of reasons. They share because it's convenient, because they want to fix a problem. And they share for thrill-seeking, like when they get pain and mood-altering medications."
Should prescription medications come with warning labels telling users to not share them? Goldsworthy isn't sure, especially considering that medications already have plenty of warning labels. "It would just get loss in the sea of other ubiquitous messaging that ends up on pharmaceutical packaging," he said.
More information
The FDA has details about using medicine properly.
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