<<Of course it seems silly that we *have* to have a doctor's diagnosis and
prescription to get medication, but that is more than most people want to
think about.>>
The one really good reason to have antibiotics available by prescription
only is to save antibiotics from being overused and creating resistant
strains. Alas, doctors have been overprescribing and patients have been
overdemanding and overusing antibiotics to such an extent that new ones
don't stay effective for long.
Education would go a long way to save antibiotics, but we don't seem capable
as a society of that.