Antibiotics are drugs or medicines that doctors use to kill bacteria and cure infections. They will not help cure illnesses caused by viruses. Learning about germs and the different kinds of illnesses they cause will help you understand when antibiotics should be used.

What are germs and what illnesses do they cause?
Germs are in the air you breathe and on everything you touch. Some germs can live for days outside the body of the sick person that they come from.

The 2 most common types of germs are called bacteria and viruses. Strep throat and skin infections are examples of illnesses caused by bacteria. Colds and flus are examples of illnesses due to viruses.

When germs enter the body, a fever might result. This means the body is fighting to kill these germs.

How effective are antibiotics against germs?
There are many different kinds of antibiotics used to kill bacteria and fight infection. But in recent years the antibiotic resistance of bacteria that cause infections in children has become a major problem. In other words, some medicines that used to kill certain germs don't work anymore. Consequently, many infections cannot be treated with traditional antibiotics and new (and often more expensive) drugs must be used.

Why have bacteria become resistant to antibiotics?
There are many reasons why bacteria develop a resistance to antibiotics, including inappropriate use of medicines. Antibiotics may kill some, but not all bacteria. And when antibiotics are used for the wrong reason or for an incorrect length of time, more bacteria resistant to that antibiotic may be produced. Say a child with a cold is infected with a virus, for which there is no effective antibiotic. But say antibiotics are incorrectly prescribed for the cold. Using these antibiotics does not cure the infection but can actually encourage antibiotic resistance among bacteria that live normally in that child's intestinal tract. Now if that child develops a bacterial infection, the bacteria may be resistant to the antibiotic that was used incorrectly to treat the cold.

How can parents help avoid possible antibiotic resistance
There are certain steps you can take to help you and your family avoid the possibility of antibiotic resistance:

• Try to ensure that your child only receives antibiotics when they are clearly indicated for the treatment of a bacterial infection. Children with colds should not be treated with antibiotics.
• Be sure that any antibiotic is administered properly at the prescribed dose and taken for the prescribed duration.
• Never use antibiotics prescribed for someone else.
• Never use antibiotics left over from an unfinished prescription.

Developed by the CPS Infectious Diseases and Immunization Committee

Reviewed: February 2006