(HealthDay News) -- Preventing or treating bacterial infections are what antibiotics were designed to do.
But colds and flu, most coughs and bronchitis, and the majority of runny noses are triggered by viruses, and antibiotics won't prevent these maladies or make you feel better, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns.
Unnecessary overuse of antibiotics allows bacteria to mutate and develop a resistance to these drugs, the CDC says. The agency offers these suggestions to help prevent development of resistant bacteria: