Over 25% of people lie to get antibiotics—and their lies aren't even good

Two recent studies published in JAMA Network Open have shed light on the alarming practice of patients lying to their doctors to obtain antibiotics they likely do not require. Conducted by researchers led by Alistair Thorpe at the University of Utah, the studies examined online survey data from over 1,000 adults. The findings revealed that more than a quarter of people admitted to deceiving a clinician at least once to secure an antibiotic prescription for themselves or a child under their care.

The deceitful tactics employed by patients were largely ineffective exaggerations and fabrications. The most common strategy involved patients either overstating or inventing symptoms that would not be treated with antibiotics. Astonishingly, the lies patients told often revolved around presenting symptoms associated with viral infections, such as colds, which antibiotics are ineffective against.

Despite colds being caused by viruses rather than bacteria, the most frequent falsehoods revolved around symptoms like fever, cough, and sore throat. This discrepancy between the nature of the symptoms and the purpose of antibiotics highlights the misguided intentions behind these deceptive practices.