(HealthDayNews) -- Antibiotics are powerful medications designed to stymie disease-causing bacteria, until the germs mutate and become resistant to the drugs, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Tuberculosis, gonorrhea, malaria and childhood ear infections are just a few of the diseases that have become resistant to some antibiotics. Part of the problem is that too many people take these medications when they aren't effective or necessary.
Antibiotics only work against illnesses caused by bacteria, not those caused by viruses. Privately, doctors acknowledge prescribing these medications to patients who complain loudly enough, but who probably don't need them.
Colds and flu are two examples of illnesses in which antibiotics probably won't help ease symptoms or cure the underlying disease.
If your doctor does prescribe an antibiotic, it's important to take the entire prescription, even if you're feeling better. Stopping an antibiotic too soon can allow the bacterial menace to re-emerge in a drug-resistant form.
