Not Finishing a Course of Antibiotics

Risk Rating: 5

After a couple of days on antibiotics, you may feel rejuvenated, recovered, and ready to head back to work. Great — but don’t skip those last few pills. Even though you feel vastly better, if you haven’t finished the course of medication, there may be some survivors among the bacteria you began killing off, and they can multiply. “Researchers have figured out how much, how often, and how long you need to take the antibiotics to kill all the bacteria,” says Rick Kellerman, M.D. Take the medicine until the bottle is empty.