Doctors prescribe antibiotics to treat bacterial and fungal infections, but some people in the United States are using antibiotics without a doctor’s prescription. That’s a public health problem that can increase drug resistance and make it harder to treat infections, according to a study published this past week in the medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine. Researchers gathered data on nonprescription antibiotic use in the United States from 31 studies between 2000 and 2019 . People got these nonprescription antibiotics through a wide variety of sources, including leftover prescriptions and local markets that sold antibiotics as over-the-counter medications. Other sources were family and friends, flea markets, pet stores, health food stores and online venues. Most of the antibiotics came from leftover prescriptions or friends and family members.

In the United States, 2 million people develop antibiotic-resistant infections each year, and 23,000 die from those infections, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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