You could be making infections harder to treat every time you reach for THIS medication
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A common household item many people rely on for everyday relief may be quietly making one of the world’s biggest health threats even worse.
New research has linked ordinary painkillers to the spread of antibiotic resistance, a danger already responsible for millions of deaths worldwide.
The findings suggest that what you take for a simple headache could be fuelling a global medical crisis.
The World Health Organisation reported that bacterial resistance was directly responsible for 1.27 million global deaths in 2019, calling it one of the greatest public health challenges.
Now, a first-of-its-kind study from the University of South Australia has revealed that common painkillers such as ibuprofen and paracetamol contributed to antibiotic resistance.
Researchers found the two drugs triggered resistance when taken separately and could even intensify the effect when used together.
In one case, combining ibuprofen and paracetamol with the broad-spectrum antibiotic ciprofloxacin to treat Escherichia coli (E. coli) led to significantly increased bacterial mutations.
This made the E. coli highly resistant to ciprofloxacin.
‘Worryingly, the bacteria were not only resistant to the antibiotic ciprofloxacin, but increased resistance was also observed to multiple other antibiotics from different classes,’ lead researcher Associate Professor Rietie Venter said.
‘We also uncovered the genetic mechanisms behind this resistance, with ibuprofen and paracetamol both activating the bacteria's defences to expel antibiotics and render them less effective.’
The study also assessed other widely used medications, including metformin and pseudoephedrine, to understand how they might impact antibiotic effectiveness.
The results showed that ‘antibiotic resistance isn’t just about antibiotics anymore’.
‘Antibiotics have long been vital in treating infectious diseases, but their widespread overuse and misuse have driven a global rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria,’ Venter said.
This raised urgent concerns for vulnerable groups such as aged care residents, many of whom relied on multiple daily medications.
‘This doesn’t mean we should stop using these medications, but we do need to be more mindful about how they interact with antibiotics—and that includes looking beyond just two-drug combinations,’ Venter said.
The warning about everyday painkillers fuelling antibiotic resistance is just one piece of a much larger problem.
Around the world, health experts are sounding alarms about the pace at which microbes are adapting and outsmarting the medicines once trusted to keep them at bay.
It’s a growing crisis that some researchers believe could push us back into an era where once-treatable infections become deadly again.
Read more: Microbes outpacing medicine: Health catastrophe threatening to take us back to dark ages
If everyday painkillers can help bacteria outsmart antibiotics, how much more care do we need to take in protecting the drugs that still save lives?
New research has linked ordinary painkillers to the spread of antibiotic resistance, a danger already responsible for millions of deaths worldwide.
The findings suggest that what you take for a simple headache could be fuelling a global medical crisis.
The World Health Organisation reported that bacterial resistance was directly responsible for 1.27 million global deaths in 2019, calling it one of the greatest public health challenges.
Now, a first-of-its-kind study from the University of South Australia has revealed that common painkillers such as ibuprofen and paracetamol contributed to antibiotic resistance.
Researchers found the two drugs triggered resistance when taken separately and could even intensify the effect when used together.
Common painkillers linked to antibiotic resistance crisis. Image source: Pexels/Nataliya Vaitkevich
Disclaimer: This is a stock image used for illustrative purposes only and does not depict the actual person, item, or event described.
Disclaimer: This is a stock image used for illustrative purposes only and does not depict the actual person, item, or event described.
In one case, combining ibuprofen and paracetamol with the broad-spectrum antibiotic ciprofloxacin to treat Escherichia coli (E. coli) led to significantly increased bacterial mutations.
This made the E. coli highly resistant to ciprofloxacin.
‘Worryingly, the bacteria were not only resistant to the antibiotic ciprofloxacin, but increased resistance was also observed to multiple other antibiotics from different classes,’ lead researcher Associate Professor Rietie Venter said.
‘We also uncovered the genetic mechanisms behind this resistance, with ibuprofen and paracetamol both activating the bacteria's defences to expel antibiotics and render them less effective.’
The study also assessed other widely used medications, including metformin and pseudoephedrine, to understand how they might impact antibiotic effectiveness.
The results showed that ‘antibiotic resistance isn’t just about antibiotics anymore’.
‘Antibiotics have long been vital in treating infectious diseases, but their widespread overuse and misuse have driven a global rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria,’ Venter said.
This raised urgent concerns for vulnerable groups such as aged care residents, many of whom relied on multiple daily medications.
‘This doesn’t mean we should stop using these medications, but we do need to be more mindful about how they interact with antibiotics—and that includes looking beyond just two-drug combinations,’ Venter said.
The warning about everyday painkillers fuelling antibiotic resistance is just one piece of a much larger problem.
Around the world, health experts are sounding alarms about the pace at which microbes are adapting and outsmarting the medicines once trusted to keep them at bay.
It’s a growing crisis that some researchers believe could push us back into an era where once-treatable infections become deadly again.
Read more: Microbes outpacing medicine: Health catastrophe threatening to take us back to dark ages
If everyday painkillers can help bacteria outsmart antibiotics, how much more care do we need to take in protecting the drugs that still save lives?
