The latest supermarket to jump on the free antibiotics bandwagon is Genuardi’s in Montgomery County, and the public is all ears. The supermarket says it is giving away the nine antibiotics that are most common and frequently prescribed during the winter months. To get the free drugs at Genuardi’s, customers just need a prescription and a Genuardi’s pharmacy card.

And customers are hunger for the free meds, calling their doctors and pharmacies and asking for them.

Antibiotics are prescribed by doctors to treat infection. The meds do not treat viruses, the most common ailment during winter months. Some health experts fear that overuse of antibiotics has made people more resistant to antibiotics, making it more difficult for them to be successfully treated.

But there are other, more serious risks to antibiotics, says one local doctor. “For the occasional patient who gets a serious side effect, it can be life threatening,” says Dr. Thomas Fekete, an infectious disease specialist at Temple University Hospital.

One serious side effect that can occur while taking antibiotics is Stevens Johnson Syndrome, or SJS. SJS is a severe adverse reaction to medication that presents as a rash on the skin that blisters over and causes the skin to peel off in sheets. The mucus membranes also can be involved, causing blisters on the eyes and mouth. Infection, dehydration, blindness and death can occur.

Genuardi’s management says it did consider all angles of the free antibiotics offer, but decided to leave their trust in the doctors.

SOURCE: Stevens Johnson Syndrome › Caution advised with free antibiotics offer