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WHY SHOULD ANTIBIOTICS NOT BE USED TO TREAT COUGHS & COLDS?

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WHY SHOULD ANTIBIOTICS NOT BE USED TO TREAT COUGHS & COLDS?

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Viral infections are much more common than bacterial infections. All colds and most coughs and sore throats are caused by viruses. Antibiotics do not work against infections, such as colds, caused by viruses. WHY CAN’T DIFFERENT ANTIBIOTICS BE USED INSTEAD? They can, but they may not be as effective, and they may have more side-effects. And eventually the bacteria will become resistant to them too. We cannot be sure we will always be able to find new antibiotics to replace the old ones. In recent years fewer and fewer new antibiotics have been discovered. HOW CAN ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE BE AVOIDED? By using antibiotics carefully we can slow down the development of resistance. It’s not possible to stop it completely but slowing it down stops resistance spreading and buys some time to develop new types of antibiotics. WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE? By only using antibiotics when it’s appropriate to do so. We now know that most coughs and colds get better just as quickly without

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