About 1 in 4 surveyed Americans admitted faking or exaggerating symptoms to get antibiotics

Ask people outright whether they have ever stretched the truth to get antibiotics, and a lot of them say yes.

In an online survey of 959 US adults this year, 268, about 28%, said they had misrepresented symptoms to a clinician to get the drugs. Some exaggerated symptoms they really had (26%). Others invented symptoms (about 17%). Cold-like symptoms were the most common ones misrepresented, and it usually paid off: 77% of those who did it said it worked at least once.

Parents do it too. In a companion survey of 236 parents and guardians, 63 (about 27%) said they had misrepresented a child's symptoms, and 87% of them said they had succeeded at least once.

The reasons sound less like scheming than frustration. Most said they felt really sick, believed antibiotics were the only thing that would help, or needed to get back to their responsibilities. Misrepresenting was more common among younger adults, people who often felt clinicians didn't take their symptoms seriously, people who needed help reading health materials, and people who believed antibiotic resistance is a hoax. Knowing more about antibiotics went with lower odds. About 29% said they regretted it.

Unneeded antibiotics can cause side effects and feed resistance, and these surveys suggest part of the overuse starts with patients who feel unheard. The numbers come with real limits. Both surveys used online panels rather than random samples, so the percentages may not hold nationwide, and self-reports can tilt either way. The design also can't show what causes the behavior.