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Antibiotics: when to use them ?

Your doctor is the right person to start appropriate treatment. In some cases, a blood sample or a throat smear needs to be examined first. Antibiotics have no effect on viral infections and barely have an effect on common bacterial infections. Those infections heal spontaneously but the symptoms can be treated in order to make the patient feel better.

Severe bacterial infections, however, do need to be treated with antibiotics.

 

Disease Medication Recommendations
Influenza Painkillers, antipyretics Rest
Prophylactic vaccination
Sinusitis Painkillers, antipyretics Hot steam inhalation
Diarrhoea In some cases
anti-diarrhoeal drugs
Drink enough, good hygiene
Common cold Painkillers Avoid smoking
Acute bronchitis Painkillers Avoid smoking
Laryngitis Painkillers Avoid smoking
Otitis Painkillers, antipyretics Rest
Pneumonia Antibiotics Severe illness, to be monitored closely by a physician, in some cases hospitalisation
Bacterial meningitis Antibiotics Severe illness, to be monitored closely by a physician, hospitalisation

 

Ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice