Have you always been told to finish a course of antibiotics? New research shows it may be better to stop taking them once you feel better. Martin Llewelyn, a professor in infectious diseases at Brighton and Sussex medical school, and colleagues claim that this rule, long held by doctors and the public is wrong and should be overturned. Patients have always been told to finish the bottle of antibiotics because it was thought taking too little medicine would allow the bacteria causing the disease to mutate and become resistant to the drug. As it turns out, the opposite may be true. Professor Martin Llewelyn from Brighton and Sussex medical school, and colleagues published an analysis in the British Medical Journal. They claim “the idea that stopping antibiotic treatment early encourages antibiotic resistance is not supported by evidence, while taking antibiotics for longer than necessary increases the risk of resistance”. There are some diseases where the infecting organism can become resistant if antibiotics are not taken for long enough. A classic example is tuberculosis. However, usually most of the bacteria that cause people to get sick are found on everybody’s hands in the community, and don’t cause any harm. For example E coli and Staphylococcus aureus. People only get sick when the bacteria gets into their bloodstream or their gut. The longer the bacteria are exposed to antibiotics, the more likely they are to develop resistance. The experts went on to say there hasn’t been enough research into the ideal length of time a course of antibiotics should be taken, and it does vary from one individual to the next, depending partly on which antibiotics they have used in the past. In hospitals patients can be tested to figure out when to stop giving an antibiotic. The authors of the study said “Outside hospital, where repeated testing may not be feasible, patients might be best advised to stop treatment when they feel better”. Antibiotics can be prescribed for a wide range of acute or chronic conditions. If your doctor has prescribed antibiotics for you, please discuss with him or her whether the information in this article is appropriate for your particular circumstances or not. Sometimes a full course of antibiotics must be taken. The right antibiotic, given in the right circumstances can be life saving. Unfortunately there are potential side effects; most commonly yeast infections, abdominal cramps or bloating, and loss of good bacteria from the gut. A good probiotic should always be taken after a course of antibiotics. Reference