How can my doctor tell whether my illness is caused by a virus or bacteria? Though there is no easy way to tell for sure, infections caused by bacteria often take on certain characteristics. They tend to last longer, cause a fever of 100.4 degrees or greater, and may make people sick enough to be hospitalized. Evidence shows that infections lasting 10 days or longer are more likely caused by bacteria, and infections lasting less than that are caused by viruses. At this point, you might be shaking your head in disbelief, or asking “How can that be?” You might even wonder why your doctor isn’t treating you “just in case.” After all, 10 days is a long time to wait when you are feeling ill. The answer is tri-fold: 1. Antibiotics don’t work for viruses. Most of the time, these common infections are caused by viruses. Antibiotics work by destroying bacterial cell membranes and bacterial replication. Since viruses don’t have these components, antibiotics do nothing to fight them. 2. Antibiotics have side effects. If you take antibiotics for a viral infection, you are putting yourself at risk for side effects. All antibiotics may cause diarrhea and nausea. Some are hard on your kidneys, liver or other body parts. Some side effects can be life threatening, such as an allergic reaction. Every antibiotic can have side effects. 3. Using antibiotics to treat viruses causes superbugs. Superbugs are bacteria that become resistant to antibiotics. This happens when antibiotics are inappropriately used to treat viral infections. When someone gets an infection caused by a superbug, antibiotics don’t work. Thousands of people die from these infections every year. Infants, young children and elderly are at greatest risk. These deaths are preventable – but only if antibiotics are used correctly. The next time you see your provider for an infection, try to be a good steward of antibiotic use. If he or she determines that you do not need antibiotics, realize the greater impact you have by avoiding these medications for viral illnesses.
Be Antibiotics Aware is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) national educational effort to help improve antibiotic prescribing and use and combat antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance is one of the most urgent threats to the public’s health. Antibiotic resistance happens when germs, like bacteria and fungi, develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them. That means the germs are not killed and continue to grow. More than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the United States each year, and more than 35,000 people die as a result. Antibiotics can save lives, but any time antibiotics are used, they can cause side effects and contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance. Each year, at least 28% of antibiotics are prescribed unnecessarily in U.S. doctors’ offices and emergency rooms (ERs), which makes improving antibiotic prescribing and use a national priority. Helping healthcare professionals improve the way they prescribe antibiotics, and improving the way we take antibiotics, helps keep us healthy now, helps fight antibiotic resistance, and ensures that these life-saving drugs will be available for future generations. Antibiotics are only needed for treating certain infections caused by bacteria, but even some bacterial infections get better without antibiotics. We rely on antibiotics to treat serious, life-threatening conditions such as pneumonia and sepsis, the body’s extreme response to an infection. Effective antibiotics are also needed for people who are at high risk for developing infections. Some of those at high risk for infections include patients undergoing surgery, patients with end-stage kidney disease, or patients receiving cancer therapy (chemotherapy).
Antibiotics DO NOT work on viruses, such as those that cause colds, flu, or COVID-19. Antibiotics also are not needed for many sinus infections and some ear infections. When antibiotics aren’t needed, they won’t help you, and the side effects could still cause harm. Common side effects of antibiotics can include:
More serious side effects can include:
Antibiotic use can also lead to the development of antibiotic resistance.
To learn more about antibiotic prescribing and use, visit CDC’s Antibiotic Prescribing and Use website. To learn more about antibiotic resistance, visit CDC’s Antibiotic Resistance website.
Antibiotics are powerful medicines used to treat certain illnesses. However, antibiotics do not cure everything, and unnecessary antibiotics can even be harmful. There are 2 main types of germs that cause most infections. These are viruses and bacteria. Viruses cause:
Antibiotics cannot kill viruses or help you feel better when you have a virus. Bacteria cause:
Antibiotics do kill specific bacteria. Some viruses cause symptoms that resemble bacterial infections, and some bacteria can cause symptoms that resemble viral infections. Your healthcare provider can determine what type of illness you have and recommend the proper type of treatment. What are resistant bacteria?Each time you take an antibiotic, bacteria are killed. Sometimes, bacteria causing infections are already resistant to prescribed antibiotics. Bacteria may also become resistant during treatment of an infection. Resistant bacteria do not respond to the antibiotics and continue to cause infection. A common misconception is that a person's body becomes resistant to specific medicines. However, it is the bacteria, not people, that become resistant to the medicines. Each time you take or give your child an antibiotic unnecessarily or improperly, you increase the chance of developing medicine-resistant bacteria. Therefore, it is critically important to take antibiotics only when necessary. Because of these resistant bacteria, some diseases that used to be easy to treat are now becoming nearly impossible to treat. Bacteria can develop resistance to certain medicines:
When are antibiotics needed?This complicated question, which should be answered by your healthcare provider, depends on the specific diagnosis. For example, there are several types of ear infections—most need antibiotics, but some do not. Most cases of sore throat are caused by viruses. One kind, strep throat, diagnosed by a lab test, needs antibiotics. Common viral infections, like coughs or a cold, can sometimes become complicated and a bacterial infection can develop. However, treating viral infections with antibiotics in order to prevent bacterial infections is not recommended because of the risk of causing bacterial resistance:
Remember that taking antibiotics appropriately and making sure your child receives the proper immunizations will help prevent having to take more dangerous and more costly medicines. Talk with your healthcare provider for more information. |