New research has discovered that hospital patients are routinely given antibiotics as a just in case remedy, but 20 per cent of the patients will suffer at least one side effect, and the rate rises by 3 per cent for every 10 days on the drugs. Common side effects include Gastrointestinal problems, kidney reactions and abnormalities in the blood. Nearly a quarter the patients given antibiotics end up spending more time in hospital because of the side effects of antibiotics, according to “What Doctors Won’t Tell You”. 

Patients admitted to John Hopkins hospital and analyzed by researchers when they arrived at the hospital and for 30 days after they were allowed home. The researchers discovered that 20% of the patients affected should not have been on antibiotics as there was no threat of bacterial infections. 

Researcher Pranita Tamma said “Too often, clinicians… think that antibiotics are probably not harmful. Anti-biotics have the potential to cause real harm to patients.”