Bacteria are germs that cause infections in people. Examples of infections caused by bacteria include infections of the skin, throat, lung and urinary tract. Infections can be caused by other types of germs such as viruses. Examples of common infections caused by viruses are the common cold, influenza and chickenpox.
Antibiotics are medicines used to treat specific infections caused by bacteria.
They either kill bacteria or keep more bacteria from growing. Antibiotics will not cure infections caused by viruses. When an antibiotic is overused or misused, bacteria can become resistant to it. This means that this antibiotic cannot kill the bacteria or keep it from growing. Some bacteria that cause common infections have become resistant to many different antibiotics.