After doctors began to use various antibiotics, medicine entered a new stage of development. These drugs have unique properties that destroy or slow down the development of dangerous microorganisms, which allows them to be widely used in the treatment of infectious diseases.

Pharmacists are creating more and more medicines, and today it is very difficult to find a family in whose medicine cabinet there would be no antibiotics. Some people who become ill with the flu or ARI manage to prescribe drugs on their own, thereby causing irreparable harm to their health. Can I take antibiotics for colds? What diseases are better to refrain from their use?

Rules and patterns

You should know that antibiotics are not as harmless as it seems at first glance. Only a doctor can prescribe these drugs, and they must be taken with great care. Especially when antibiotics are used for colds for children. When using any medications, you must carefully read the instructions and be sure to pay attention to their expiration date.

If you are going to take antibiotics, you should know that they only help with bacterial infections. They will not bring any effect with influenza and SARS, since these diseases occur in the body due to the vital activity of viruses. Antibiotics are powerless against them.

At high temperature or inflammatory processes, these drugs are also not prescribed. They are not antipyretic drugs, so there will be no effect from their intake in case of high temperature.

Antibiotics for colds

Today, many drugs are advertised on TV, but this does not mean that you can prescribe them yourself during illness. The question of which antibiotics to take with a cold should be consulted by a doctor, and not your best friend or mother.

Antibiotics for colds are prescribed in accordance with the type of disease, its severity and other features. If side effects or allergic reactions are detected, the drug may be replaced by another.

When are antibiotics prescribed?

Usually, the patient’s condition improves within a week. If this does not happen, on the basis of the tests, the doctor concludes that a bacterial infection has joined the disease. In this case, antibiotics for colds are prescribed.

This is very important, since the patient’s condition can become complicated, and the flu or acute respiratory infections take on a dangerous form – it can be pneumonia, acute bronchitis or purulent tonsillitis. Only strong antibiotics will help the body cope with the attack of bacteria.

In this case, it is very important to choose the right drugs. What kind? Antibiotics for colds are prescribed based on a bacteriological examination of the sputum of the patient. Having done the analysis, the laboratory provides results on the resistance of bacteria to certain drugs.

Having determined the most suitable antibiotics, the doctor prescribes them to the patient. If you are allergic to this medicine or have side effects, another drug is prescribed. You should know that you can not abruptly cancel the antibiotic. With a cold, an adult needs to use it for another two to three days. Even after a visible improvement in general condition, therapy is not recommended to be discontinued.

Feasible side effects

The prescribed antibiotic with a cold for an adult will certainly harm less than a child. However, this potent drug can cause a number of side effects, such as a rash, nausea, vomiting, headaches, and other unpleasant symptoms. If the antibiotic was used uncontrollably, it can cause such reactions of the body:

• allergic rashes;
• intestinal dysbiosis;
• bacteria resistance to a certain type of drug.

Most often, allergic manifestations occur after taking antibiotics of the penicillin group. If a rash or other discomfort occurs after taking the medicine, it is better to stop taking it and consult a doctor.

Interaction with other drugs

Combining several medications is undesirable, especially if one of them is an antibiotic. If you are taking any medicine, be sure to tell your doctor about it. He will choose the best treatment option. But in any case, the antibiotic is taken at a different time and preferably without combining it with other medicines.

Special instructions should be given to women taking hormonal contraceptives. When interacting with some antibiotics, their effect decreases, which can lead to an unwanted pregnancy.

Also, any medications are not recommended for use during lactation. Antibiotics can penetrate into breast milk and have a negative effect on the baby, causing dysbiosis or allergic rashes. It is strictly forbidden to take any medications while carrying a child.