In an unprecedented attempt to turn the tide, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently proposed putting labels on antibiotics urging doctors to use them only when a bacterial infection is proved or highly likely. And several medical groups are recommending greater restrictions on the preventive use of antibiotics before surgery and for patients with certain heart problems. For example, marketers highlight the ability of many antibiotics to attack a broad range of bacteria. That's a potential advantage when the infecting organisms are multiple or unknown. Yet choosing a broad-spectrum drug when a narrower one would do the job gives many organisms a chance to develop resistance.
Antibiotic treatment is useless and can breed resistance.
Most sore throats are also viral, but severe soreness with pus at the back of the throat and painfully enlarged lymph nodes could be a sign of strep throat, a bacterial infection. Also ask your doctor if it would be OK to briefly delay treatment to see if you can fight off the infection. And if you must take antibiotics, ask for the shortest course of treatment that will reliably eradicate the infection.