Antibiotic Resistance: A Danger That Begins in the Medicine Drawer

Most of us have a medicine cabinet or drawer at home. There is a fairly good chance it contains an unfinished packet of antibiotics. The medicine we started last winter for a sore throat and stopped three days later because “I’m better now” comes to mind again the next time we are ill. Sometimes we offer it to a neighbor or relative: “I have some of this; it works.”

These small habits feed one of the world’s most serious health problems: antibiotic resistance.

According to a comprehensive study published in The Lancet in 2024, drug-resistant infections directly caused more than a million deaths worldwide in 2021. The same study projects that, without the necessary measures, 39 million people could lose their lives from this cause between 2025 and 2050. We are discussing a situation already unfolding and growing more serious, rather than a distant future scenario.

Türkiye is part of this picture too. For many years, our country has been identified among those with the highest antibiotic consumption per person. The Ministry of Health’s work on rational medicine use and prescription monitoring are important steps. But the picture cannot fully change while habits remain unchanged.

The World Health Organization’s updated global action plan for 2026–2036 also recognizes this as an issue for countries’ health and security agendas, extending well beyond hospitals.

Where do we go wrong?

The most common mistake is assuming every fever and sore throat is an illness that antibiotics will resolve. Yet most colds and influenza are caused by viruses, and antibiotics do not act on viruses. In such cases, taking the medicine does not help the patient, but creates conditions in which bacteria can develop resistance.

The second mistake is abandoning treatment midway. Stopping the medicine as soon as we feel well gives the most resilient bacteria an opportunity to survive and multiply. The third is insisting that a physician “must prescribe an antibiotic.” Resisting that pressure is not easy for the physician; patients also need to understand the cost of their insistence.

The issue extends beyond human health. Uncontrolled antibiotic use in livestock farming and agriculture allows resistance to spread into the environment and food chain. This is why specialists speak of a “One Health” approach: human, animal, and environmental health cannot be considered separately.

The most effective way to reduce the need for antibiotics is to avoid infection in the first place. Handwashing, vaccination, preventing hospital-acquired infections, clean water, and food safety are therefore directly connected to this issue. Fewer infections mean less medicine; less medicine means resistance develops more slowly.

My suggestion is simple: look through your medicine drawer tonight. Take unfinished, expired, or unidentifiable antibiotics to a pharmacy; do not put them in the rubbish or pour them down the sink. The next time you are ill, consult your physician or pharmacist rather than starting medication yourself. Steps that seem small can influence whether someone in a hospital years from now responds to treatment.