A new study has found that taking common painkillers like ibuprofen and paracetamol together with antibiotics could make bacteria more resistant to treatment. This raises new concerns about how widely used non-antibiotic medicines may contribute to the global public health threat of antibiotic resistance.
How Painkillers Affect Antibiotics
The research, published in the journal npj Antimicrobials and Resistance, was led by Rietie Venter, associate professor of clinical and health sciences at the University of South Australia. The team studied the effect of non-antibiotic medicines combined with ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic used to treat skin, gut, and urinary infections.
They discovered that bacteria exposed to both ciprofloxacin and painkillers developed more genetic mutations compared to those exposed to the antibiotic alone. These changes allowed the microbes to grow faster and turn into highly resistant organisms.
The study also revealed that resistance was not limited to ciprofloxacin. The bacteria became resistant to several other antibiotics as well, making the problem more serious.
Wider Impact of Common Medicines
Apart from ibuprofen and paracetamol, the researchers also tested other widely used medicines such as metformin (for diabetes) and atorvastatin (for high cholesterol). These drugs also showed an impact on how bacteria respond to antibiotics.
The scientists explained that some medicines trigger bacteria to activate defence mechanisms that push antibiotics out of their system, making the treatment less effective. This shows that antibiotic resistance is more complex than just overusing antibiotics—it also involves interactions with common medicines.
A Growing Global Concern
Antibiotic resistance is already considered a major global threat. A 2024 study in The Lancet estimated that by 2050, 39 million lives could be lost worldwide due to infections that no longer respond to antibiotics.
Professor Venter stressed that this doesn’t mean people should stop using painkillers or other common drugs. Instead, doctors and patients must be more mindful about how different medicines interact when taken together.
Future research will focus on people who are on long-term treatments to understand how multiple medications affect antibiotic effectiveness. The study serves as a warning that antibiotic resistance is no longer only about antibiotics—it’s about how all medicines work together.
