this post was submitted on 08 Jan 2026
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So why do you have to take the full thing of antibiotics? It has never been explained to me
As I understand it, just cause you feel better it doesn't mean the bacteria is fully gone. If you stop taking them before that point the surviving bacteria (which were more resistant) will start multiplying again and you'll need more/stronger antibiotics at that point
Its because there might be a few bacteria left if you dont eat all the antibiotics
And those survivors might evolve and get resistant to antibiotics
Better to kill them all, leaving no survivors
Let's not forget to mention that these resistant bacteria start to spread, making antibiotics less and less useful over time, for everyone.
We're already at a place where antimicrobial resistance has become a huge issue, rendering treatments with antibiotics useless in many cases.
https://www.who.int/news/item/13-10-2025-who-warns-of-widespread-resistance-to-common-antibiotics-worldwide
If you ever suffered through a bacterial infection and remember how you felt once the antibiotics finally kicked in, and the prolonged suffering resistances would cause, or ever watched a loved one in a hospital die from a bacterial infection just because the were in a weakened state and the stem they caught was already resistant, you'll understand why that sucks so much as it does.
That was the theory and how it works in a petri dish, however that's not how it works in the body.
Antibiotic treatment doesn't have to kill all of the bacteria. It needs to kill enough so the immune system can catch up and finish the job.
There been evidence for more than 50 years that overly long antibiotic treatments cause resistance to build up faster. That's why they have limits on the first place.
So there's a balance between too few days, and to many.
"feeling better" is our physiological response to the medication working, not an indication of whatever you're sick with being out of your system. you could feel better but have bacteria remaining in small amounts not making you experience symptoms but then they begin proliferating. eventually, you'll feel sick again. take the entire regimen as recommended. it's only "recommended" because they can't make you do it, but really, you have to do it. that's how it's effective.
Funny how these "assumptions" are proven wrong but still everyone regurgitates them.
Don't eat eggs, because they increase your cortisol... is another one of these myths
Never heard that one.
https://nutri.it.com/are-eggs-high-in-cortisol-debunking-the-myth-about-your-diet-and-stress-hormones
Okay, so how does the average, non-medically-trained person know when the best time to stop is?
...finish all of the medication. antibiotics are not prescribed beyond their need to be consumed. read the directions given to you and follow them.
Exactly. I never said anything about the layperson. Trained medicals on the other hand should be required to update their knowledge.
The non-medically trained person? They should not! The medically trained person on the other hand, should question and update their training, shouldn't they?
So a person should take the entire course of antibiotics that are prescribed to them. I guess I'm confused about why you said to the person who said you should take your entire course of antibiotics and not stop because of feelings is making false assumptions.
They believe that after a short time on antibiotics the bacteria that have not yet died have some resistance to the antibiotics. So it's better to take more and kill them all so the ones a little resistant can't live on to become very resistant. There is newer research that suggests this practice is not optimal though.
The other replies are now wrong. Advice has started to change. It's now believed that finishing the course after the infection has been treated and eliminated drives antibiotic resistance. Rationally thinking about it you can see why, more unnecessary antibiotic exposure to bacteria both in your body and in the sewer/environment where you excrete the antibiotics
There is nuance here and it's up to medical professionals and researchers to find the right balance. The biggest source of the unnecessary usage of antibiotics is rampant over-prescription, not taking a few more doses after the first second you feel better. Rebounding with a more resilient infection after stopping antibiotics early is still a relevant concern and happens frequently.
Obviously, if over-perscription is a problem and medical professionals are the ones prescribing these meds, it needs to be allowed to point to deprecated beliefs these people have.
You all are acting, as if everyone that points to this error is recommending that sick people should stop taking their meds.