“Can a viral cold and cough be treated without antibiotics?”
Every time my daughter has cold and cough the doctor gives her antibiotics. Is there a way to treat viral cough and cold without any antibiotics?
5 Answers
InfectiousDiseaseSpecialistAntibiotics
Antibiotics are not indicated for viral cold and cough unless you have a superimposed bacterial infection, consult your doctor before taking antibiotics .
In the absence of fever or symptoms lasting 8 days or more, antibiotics are not indicated.
Viral colds should not be treated with antibiotics since these medicines have no activity against the virus and the viral infection is generally ended within several days.
G dickinson
G dickinson
Viral upper respiratory infections (URI’s/colds) are caused by a variety of viruses. They should never be treated with antibiotics that are only effective against bacteria, not viruses. Antiviral drugs are not recommended for URI’s as they are uniformly self- limited. If her doctor always treats viral URI’s with antibiotics, find a new doctor.
Antibiotics do not work for any viral infection and may cause more problems with development of resistant bacterial infections
