The Conversation: ‘Must I take all my antibiotics?’ Why infectious disease experts are rethinking this longstanding rule
For decades, patients were told to always finish their antibiotics to prevent resistance and relapse. Infectious disease expert Amy J. Mathers explains why that advice is being reconsidered, revealing shorter courses often work just as well, resistance stems from antibiotic exposure itself, and unnecessary prescriptions—not incomplete courses—pose the real threat to effective treatment.