I would only take antibiotics if prescribed them, with no alternative therapies available. The main reasoning behind this is the boom in studies on our microbial communities and the influence they have on our health. As I was going through school and taking science classes, the idea that antibiotics have been abused and could actually be harming our health as well as creating stronger, more resilient bacteria was emerging. This has given me an overall view of antibiotics as an outdated treatment, which should only be used as a last resort. Luckily, this thinking has prevailed and I was only prescribed antibiotics as single time, with strict instructions on when to stop taking them.
Overall, antibiotics are a vital treatment that has advanced medicine greatly, but they need to be taken with caution and special care behind them. Antibiotic abuse is a real issue and we must tread carefully while we understand so little about our microbiome.
