Help Antibiotics Work for You

Antibiotics are important drugs that treat some bacterial infections and help save lives. If your doctor has prescribed an antibiotic, be sure to take it exactly as directed.

Using antibiotics incorrectly can make your illness worse and can lead the bacteria and parasites that cause disease to become resistant to antibiotics. Organisms that cause tuberculosis, gonorrhea, malaria and childhood ear infections are now more difficult to treat than they were decades ago because of bacterial resistance. More than 70 percent of the bacteria that cause infections in hospitals are now resistant to at least one antibiotic.

There is no way to know if you have been infected with a resistant organism. If treatment with an appropriate antibiotic does not cause symptoms to improve within a couple of days, you may have an infection with a resistant organism. Another antibiotic or a combination of antibiotics may be needed.

The following information can help you use antibiotics properly:

• Antibiotics can't cure colds, the flu, most coughs and most sore throats because they're caused by viruses. Don't demand antibiotics; let your health care provider determine if they are the appropriate treatment for your illness.

• If your child has an ear infection, your child's health care provider may decide not to prescribe an antibiotic immediately. Ear infections often resolve on their own in healthy children.

• Do not stop taking the full course of your medication because you're feeling better. Not completing the full course may help bacteria become resistant to that drug. So can skipping doses.

• Don't take a friend's medicine or use leftover pills from a previous illness. It may not be the correct medicine or dose for your condition.

• Don't take any antibiotics that have not been prescribed for you. Don't take any medicines you buy without a prescription unless you know all the ingredients.

• If you don't start getting better after you've been on antibiotics for a couple of days, call your provider. You may have an infection with an organism that is resistant to the antibiotic you were prescribed. It's also important to call if you're not taking antibiotics and symptoms haven't improved in two weeks, or if they seem unusual or severe at any point. People with chronic conditions should call even sooner.