Not using antibiotics in the proper way can be very dangerous, and even deadly. Two examples of the horrific consequences of the misuse of prescription drugs can be seen by the late model Anna Nicole Smith and the late actor Heath Ledger.
Many people believe that the main cause of Anna Nicole Smith’s death involved the misuse of prescription drugs. Smith had been treated for an addiction to pain killers a few years earlier, and had previously been using a weight loss drug called ephedra, which has now been taken off the market because it is known to have caused damage to the lining of the heart in some users. Many prescription drugs were also found in Anna Nicole Smith’s hotel room, including an anti-anxiety medication called Valium, which can be addicting if it is misused. Many of these antibiotics she was taking may have caused dangerous drug-drug interactions, which led to toxicity and overdose. Anna Nicole Smith’s twenty-year-old son had also died when his anti-depressants and methadone caused a deadly interaction.

Read this article for more information about “the death of Anna Nicole Smith and the epidemic of prescription drug addiction.”
CNN reported that Heath Ledger had died from “an accidental overdose of prescription medications including painkillers, anti-anxiety drugs and sleeping pills.” He had been known to be taking hydrocodone and oxycodone, both of which are painkillers, diazepam, an anti-anxiety medicine also commonly known as Valium, temazepam, a sleep medication, alprazolam, another anti-anxiety drug that is commonly sold as Xanax, and doxylamine, an over-the-counter antihistamine drug that can be used as a sleeping pill. The combination of these drugs became toxic and sadly killed Heath Ledger.
Here is what Ledger’s father had to say:
“While no medications were taken in excess, we learned today the combination of doctor-prescribed drugs proved lethal for our boy. Heath’s accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden dangers of combining prescription medication, even at low dosage.”

Read more about Heath Ledger’s accidental overdose.