Similarly, here in the US the only time I was precribed antibiotics this decade was when I had a severe enough bacterial infection that the doctor took one look

Similarly, here in the US the only time I was precribed antibiotics this decade was when I had a severe enough bacterial infection that the doctor took one look at my vitals and had me taken to the ER at a nearby hospital. Meanwhile, my family in India are so used to getting antibiotics and overmedicating in general for everything that they find it weird that doctors here just prescribe basic OTC stuff and rest for a basic viral cold. When I recently went to the doctor for a cold, they did a strep test which came out negative and handed me a "prescription" of lozenges and an OTC decongestant.