Antibiotics and self-care

Antibiotics are no longer routinely used to treat infections because:

  • many infections are caused by viruses, so antibiotics are not effective
  • antibiotics are often unlikely to speed up the healing process and can cause side effects
  • the more antibiotics are used to treat trivial conditions, the more likely they are to become ineffective for treating more serious conditions

Find out all about antibiotics on the NHS website

Find out about treating your respiratory tract infection

Graphic explaining how long common infections last