These days, a concerning phenomenon was noticed on Amazon: people writing reviews for antibiotics intended for their pet fish, but it reality the Amazon buyers actually got the antibiotics for themselves. Consumers wrote reviews for products like the Fin Mox or MoxiFish antibiotics, both of them having in their composition the amoxicillin antibiotic.
People wrote the reviews in quite a veiled manner about the products they bought, stating how efficient they were for the conditions they were suffering from, like a toothache, gum infections or even bronchitis.
Rachel Sharp is the author who noticed first this phenomenon and showed a number of reviews on her Twitter account. She also suggests that consumers who take antibiotics meant for fish are expressing the current inaccessibility of American health care issue. Even though some antibiotics are often cheap or even free in pharmacies, visiting a doctor to get an adequate diagnosis and prescription becomes a less affordable option. Some of the reviews state that taking fish pills is a more cost-effective alternative than hospital bills.
Taking medication meant for other animals is a bad idea
Firstly, it is never recommended to treat something with fish antibiotics that were bought on the Internet. Additionally, there are different types of antibiotics that work on a particular kind of infection and also not every infection that individuals encounter is a bacterial infection after all. To add to that list, the FDA did not approve these kinds of antibiotics, so there is a high chance of not knowing exactly what you are getting.
However, the most important reason that should be kept in mind is the antibiotic resistance that is becoming a concerning issue. Taking the wrong antibiotic, using it incorrectly and taking the wrong dose can lead to this kind of resistance.
Finally, the fish antibiotic use is a dangerous path that must be avoided at any costs, because the more antibiotics the people use, the more chances to develop an antibiotic-resistant-superbug.
