Nearly 30% of adults have stretched symptoms to get antibiotics for infections

If you have ever made a cough sound a little longer than it was, you are far from alone. A national survey of US adults found that this is common, especially when people hope for antibiotics to treat what they fear is one of those nasty infections. The useful part is what it shows about how to talk with your doctor.

The short version: many people do it, they usually have understandable reasons, and a few honest sentences at the appointment work better.

How the study worked

Researchers surveyed 959 US adults online between January 8 and February 13, 2026, and asked if they had ever exaggerated or made up symptoms to get antibiotics. The results were published on Oct. 1, 2026, in JAMA Network Open. It was a survey of volunteers who described their own behavior, so it shows patterns but cannot say how often this led to a prescription.

What they found

About 28% of the people surveyed (27.9%, or 268 people) said they had, at some point, misrepresented their symptoms to a clinician to get antibiotics.

Here is how they did it:

• About 4 in 10 of them (40.3%) exaggerated symptoms they really had. One example from the study: saying a cough lasted 2 weeks when it had lasted 1.
• A small group, 7.1%, made up a symptom, such as saying they had a fever when they did not.
• The largest group, 52.6%, did both.

Cold-like symptoms were the ones most often stretched. About two-thirds of the people who misrepresented symptoms (65.7%) did it with things like a cough or sore throat.

The reasons people gave are very human. They felt quite sick, they believed antibiotics work, they needed to get back to work or family duties, or they wanted a say in their own treatment.

Some groups were more likely to report it. Adults ages 18 to 33 and 34 to 55 were more likely than those 65 and older. So were people who often feel their symptoms are not taken seriously, people who believe antibiotic resistance is a hoax, and people who need help reading health materials.

On the other side, people who dislike taking antibiotics and people who know more about them were less likely to stretch the truth.

Why does it matter at the doctor’s office?

Most colds, sore throats and coughs are caused by viruses, and antibiotics do not work against viruses. Your doctor listens to your story to decide if an antibiotic would actually help. When the story is stretched, the decision can go the wrong way. You could end up with a medicine that causes side effects and does nothing for you. Unneeded antibiotics also help bacteria become resistant, which makes real bacterial infections harder to treat.

The survey points to two ways forward. One is that people understand antibiotics a bit better. The other is that doctors make patients feel heard, since feeling brushed off was one of the things linked to stretching the truth.

What you can do today

The next time you feel sick, jot down in your phone’s notes app the day it started and what you are feeling. Then, at the visit, say the real timeline and the real worry. For example: “My cough started 5 days ago, and I need to be back at work Monday. What can help me feel better?” Then ask, “Is this likely viral or bacterial?”

Doctors can often offer more than a prescription: relief for symptoms, a work note, or a clear plan for when to come back. Rest, fluids and honey for a cough are good starting points to ask about.