As a pharmacist, I wholeheartedly agree with this post. Over prescribing of antibiotics can be detrimental for everyone. When there is a valid use, don't just go for the strongest, newest antibiotic. For a skin infection, Keflex is often good enough. For UTIs, Bactrim and in some cases Amoxicillin are sufficient. There are some broad spectrum antibiotics like Levaquin and Cipro that can eradicate a wide range of bacterial infections but using our latest broad spectrum antibiotics can accelerate bacterial resistance.
The rate of bacteria becoming resistant to best antibiotics is alarming. We simply are not finding new drugs to fight these infections as fast as they are becoming resistant.
Another important note is to always finish your medication. If a doctor prescribed you a 10 day course of antibiotics and you start to feel better by day 3 and stop taking it, you will only contribute to this problem. We want to make sure the bacteria is gone. Not completing your regimen may not totally eradicate the bacteria. Not only are they not completely gone, they now have been exposed to the antibiotic and can mutate and become resistant, not good for you and those around you who have to deal with this potential super bug.
Stay safe and healthy
I agree with the post, and your reply. Very strong second and third argument. I have seen cases where patients did not complete their antibiotic treatment and returned to the hospital one week later with an even more severe infection than before.
Keep spreading the word!
(Please be careful to suggest types of antibiotics for some diseases. For example nitrofurantoin is the first choice in the Netherlands (bactrim second) because of very fast elimination via the kidneys and low serum levels. You should refrain from using amoxicillin because of high resistance levels of the associated bacteria (it also destroys the Lactobacillus in the female genital tract which prevents UTI's).)