What You Can Do to Improve Antibiotic Use

On this page:
Understand when antibiotics are needed.
Take your antibiotics in the right way.
Consider alternatives to antibiotic use when you are feeling sick.
Dispose leftover antibiotics appropriately.
Learn about appropriate antibiotic use in animals.

Understand when antibiotics are needed.

• Minnesota Fact Sheet: Antibiotic Use and Antibiotic Resistance: Answers for Patients (PDF)
• CDC: Antibiotics Prescribing and Use
• CDC: Viruses or Bacteria - What's got you sick? (PDF)

Take your antibiotics in the right way.

• Take the antibiotic exactly as the doctor prescribes, even if you start to feel better. Do not skip doses or stop taking an antibiotic early unless your doctor tells you to do so.
• Only take antibiotics prescribed for you; do not share or use leftover antibiotics. Antibiotics treat specific types of infections. Taking the wrong medicine may delay treatment and allow bacteria to grow.
• Do not save antibiotics for the next illness or infection. Get rid of any leftover medicine once the prescribed course of treatment is completed.
• Prevent infections, including antibiotic-resistant infections, by practicing good hand hygiene and getting recommended vaccines.
• Do not ask for antibiotics when your doctor thinks you do not need them.
• Remember antibiotics have side effects. When you doctor says you don’t need an antibiotic, taking one may do more harm than good.

Consider alternatives to antibiotic use when you are feeling sick.

• CDC: Antibiotic Prescribing and Use | Treatment for Common Illnesses
• CDC: Patient Education Resources | Antibiotic Prescribing and Use
  These print materials include fact sheets on preventing and treating ear infections and bronchitis, a Q&A guide for parents about runny noses, and more.

Dispose leftover antibiotics appropriately.

• Low levels of antibiotics in the environment might promote development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. It is important to practice appropriate disposal of unused pharmaceuticals to avoid releasing antibiotics and other drugs into the environment.
  For example, one should not flush unused antibiotics down the toilet.

Learn more about how to appropriately dispose of unused antibiotics:

• MPCA: Managing Unwanted Medications
• MPCA: Dispose of Unwanted Medications
  Use this searchable map to find a medication collection site near you. Most collection bins are located indoors and accessible during normal business hours.

Learn about appropriate antibiotic use in animals.

Livestock and agriculture

• Even with good farming practices, animals occasionally need veterinary treatment to stay healthy. Sometimes this includes antibiotics to treat bacterial infection. However, it is critical that antibiotics be used responsibly to prevent the emergence of resistance.
• Minnesota Fact Sheet: The Truth About: Milk and Antibiotics (PDF)
• Minnesota Fact Sheet: The Truth About: Meat and Antibiotics (PDF)
• FAO: Antibiotic Resistance: What the Agriculture Sector Can Do (PDF)

Your pets

• It is also important to use antibiotics responsibly when caring for your pets as misuse in pets can always cause antibiotic resistance.
• Minnesota Fact Sheet: Antibiotic Use in Companion Animal Veterinary Practice (PDF)
• Minnesota Fact Sheet: Antibiotics and Your Pets: What You Should Know (PDF)
• OIE: Antimicrobial Resistance
• AVMA: Your Pet's Medications