An antibiotic is a powerful medication designed to kill bacteria. These drugs enable physicians to cure bacterial illnesses like ear infections and strep throat. Unnecessary antibiotics can be harmful. There are two main types of germs that cause illness, viruses and bacteria.
Antibiotics only fight bacterial infections.
Sometimes antibiotics are given unnecessarily for infections that they will not help or cure. If you take an antibiotic when it is not necessary, such as for a cold, you increase the risk of developing an infection caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Some bacteria are not killed by antibiotics. Resistant bacteria emerge because of overuse and misuse of antibiotics. An antibiotic-resistant infection is an infection that is difficult or impossible to cure with antibiotics.