Holistic Install: Put One Question by the Medicine Cabinet

SEVEN HOLISTICS · DAILY INSTALL · NOVEMBER 9, 2026

You feel lousy, open the cabinet, and see a bottle left from the last time you were sick. You can read the old label. You still need an answer about what is making you sick today.

Alabama Public Health highlighted appropriate antibiotic use this month ahead of U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week, November 18–24. The CDC advises taking antibiotics exactly as prescribed and avoiding leftover or shared prescriptions. Antibiotics treat certain bacterial infections. Colds and flu are caused by viruses.

An illustrated reconstruction of the U.S. example.

In the early 1940s, a small amount of penicillin could be made in a lab. Making enough for many patients was a different problem. Researchers in Peoria, Illinois, worked to improve how the mold grew. It took work in labs and factories before the drug could be made on a large scale.

The American Chemical Society tells the story of a team that tested strains of mold and ways to feed them. One line of work used a liquid left from processing corn. It gave researchers a way to improve production. That detail helps explain how far the drug had to travel from an idea to something a doctor could actually use.

It is easy to look back and think the whole problem was getting a strong medicine into a bottle. That was one part. Someone still had to decide who needed the medicine, how much they needed and whether it was the right tool for their illness. A bigger supply helped people once those decisions were made.

Today the hard part at home can feel like the reverse. A bottle may already be within reach. You can remember how sick you felt the last time and how glad you were when you got better. Those memories tell you why you want relief. They cannot tell you whether the current illness is caused by the same thing.

In 1944, a Brooklyn plant began growing penicillin in tanks that held thousands of gallons. Much of the penicillin taken ashore by Allied forces on D-Day came from that plant. Work that began with mold in a lab could now reach many more patients.

At home, the choice comes at the other end of that chain. A bottle left over from an earlier illness can make it feel as if the hard part is done. But a cough or sore throat can have different causes. An antibiotic that helped with a bacterial infection last time won’t treat a cold or flu.

A small note gives you a pause at the right moment. Put the question and the number you’d call where you can see them before you reach for an old bottle.

About 10–15 minutes. Use what you have, then print the worksheet for your binder.

Keep one question and a known clinic or pharmacy number handy. A pharmacist can also tell you how to dispose of unused medicine safely.

Keep the note within sight and medicines stored safely out of children’s reach.

1. Write: Could this illness need an antibiotic, and what should I do next?

2. Add your usual clinic or pharmacy number from a source you already trust.

3. Put the card by the cabinet. Keep any medicines stored as directed and out of reach of children.

Today’s win. You have one question, one trusted number and a place to find both when someone feels sick.

Takeaway. Leave a question where you’ll see it before you reach for medicine.

Stay steady,
Nick Anderson
Seven Holistics

P.S. Where would you leave a note so you’d see it when you needed it? Hit reply and tell me. If this would help a friend, forward it to them.

P.P.S. Two useful next reads:

Sources reviewed: Alabama Department of Public Health, Use Antibiotics Only When Necessary · CDC, Healthy Habits: Antibiotic Do’s and Don’ts · American Chemical Society, Discovery and Development of Penicillin · American Chemical Society, Penicillin Production through Deep-tank Fermentation.