Paws Off! Some People Are Apparently Using Their Pets' Antibiotics
Aug-30-2016

Paws Off! Some People Are Apparently Using Their Pets' Antibiotics

� Apparently, some people are getting prescription medications from a pretty unusual source.
� Their pets. Yes, according to a recent study, a small number of people are using their furry friends' meds.
� Scientists stumbled across this odd information while conducting a survey about the prevalence of unprescribed antibiotic use.
� Of the 400 people who responded, 5 percent admitted to using off-prescription antibiotics in the past year, and more than 25 percent said they planned to take them at some point in the future.
� But things got weird when the participants revealed where they were getting these drugs.
� Most of them came from pretty predictable sources: friends and family, leftover prescriptions and even from other countries.
� But 4 percent of respondents reported getting antibiotics from their pets. And it wasn't even an option on the survey; they had to write it in.
� One of the study's authors told CNN she empathizes with people who use their pets' medicines because the cost of the medication is just too much or they can't see a doctor.
� But she doesn't recommend it. She told the outlet, "We metabolize things differently than animals do, and these drugs are formulated for animals."

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