Antibiotic overuse is shockingly common in a lot of countries. A company I worked for had a lot of remote offices around the world that I interacted with over video. Whenever I had allergies or a runny nose, I'd get a lot of people asking me why I'm not taking antibiotics. They'd recommend different types of antibiotics that they thought "cured" their last cold.
There are many countries where pharmacies don't require prescriptions for common drugs. People can stop by the pharmacy and grab some antibiotics whenever they feel like taking some.
The United States isn't totally immune. Many people go to the doctor at the first signs of a cold and demand antibiotics. Most doctors will refuse, but some of them start writing prescriptions so the patients will go away and leave a good review. Anecdotally, online local parenting groups always seem to have some group of people swapping tips about which doctors will prescribe antibiotics so they can go get the drugs they want. There are also the people who order fish antibiotics and take it themselves, too.
Antibiotic resistance is only part of the problem. Unnecessarily destroying gut bacteria is not great. Getting C. Diff. Colitis is not fun.
The US may have gone too far the opposite way. Under-dosing also leads to resistance. I had pneumonia and was under prescribed repeatedly for 2 months before going to a doctor who was willing to write give me a high enough dose of simple amoxicillin (!!) to knock it out in two days.
My whole family had strep throat for a month. I'm convinced it's because they were reticent to prescribe antibiotics strong enough. They said "You'll feel better in 24 hours, promise", and when I called 3 days later with a fever still, they just told me to ride out the course.
There are many countries where pharmacies don't require prescriptions for common drugs. People can stop by the pharmacy and grab some antibiotics whenever they feel like taking some.
The United States isn't totally immune. Many people go to the doctor at the first signs of a cold and demand antibiotics. Most doctors will refuse, but some of them start writing prescriptions so the patients will go away and leave a good review. Anecdotally, online local parenting groups always seem to have some group of people swapping tips about which doctors will prescribe antibiotics so they can go get the drugs they want. There are also the people who order fish antibiotics and take it themselves, too.
Antibiotic resistance is only part of the problem. Unnecessarily destroying gut bacteria is not great. Getting C. Diff. Colitis is not fun.