World Health Organization (WHO)

‘Must I take all my antibiotics?’ Why infectious disease experts are rethinking this longstanding rule

<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/756369/original/file-20260826-50-oje1o9.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&rect=0%2C1%2C6720%2C4480&q=45&auto=format&w=1050&h=700&fit=crop" /><figcaption><span class="caption">For decades, researchers thought that bacteria become resistant to antibiotics if patients stopped taking these drugs early.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/man-with-glass-of-water-and-pill-on-blurred-royalty-free-image/1647058120">Liudmila Chernetska/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>You’ve probably heard it for years, every time you get a prescription for antibiotics: “Make sure to take all the pills.” </p> <p>Traditionally, clinicians have given two reasons for these strict instructions: So the infection doesn’t come back, and so you don’t end up with bugs <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j3418">so hearty that antibiotics can’t kill them</a>. </