Written by Dr. Tanya Wylde, Naturopathic Doctor

Viruses are not the same thing as bacteria.  I was prescribed antibiotics for Influenza A-flu, 
back in 1999.  I didn’t take them because I knew they wouldn’t be effective, as I mentioned in
 my blog post “To vaccinate or not to vaccinate, that is the question” 

If you or your family member has a virus, antibiotics will not work to treat the virus.  Taking antibiotics for colds, flus, chest colds, sore throats (except for strep throat), bronchitis,
 sinus infections, runny nose (with clear, green or yellow mucous), fluid in the middle ear (ear
infection) in otherwise healthy children and adults will not cure the infection, help you feel
better, or prevent other people from catching it since these are more often that not, caused by viruses!

The only thing that an antibiotic will do if you take it for a virus is put you at risk of getting a
bacterial infection that is resistant to antibiotic treatment.¹ Antibiotic resistance is a growing
threat to the health of Canadians and North Americans in general.  It is such a problem that
the Centre for disease and control (CDC) created a campaign to educate doctors and the public
on the topic.  To learn more on this topic of when to treat with antibiotics go to the following
web link.  http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/antibiotic-use/know-and-do.htmland to learn about
antibiotic awareness week 2013 (November 18-24) in Canada go to http://antibioticawareness.ca/ 
Also scroll down (see sources) to review the following graphic as a quick reference guide to know when to use
antibiotics…titled “Get Smart, Know When Antibiotics Work” written by the CDC.

If you are looking for natural ways to boost your immune system through cold and flu season, then check out my blog post “Evidenced based naturopathic treatments to prevent and
treat colds and flus”.

~ Tanya Wylde, BSc, CPT, ND, Naturopathic Doctor

For Tanya’s Facebook page: Dr.TanyaWylde, Naturopathic Doctor

Originally published on: Naturally Down To Earth

Find Naturally Down to Earth on Facebook click HERE

Sources for this article:

1 Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work Overview and Past Events (2013, March 12) Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/campaign-materials/week/overview.html and http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/antibiotic-use/know-and-do.html