Whats the harm in taking antibiotics when I don need them?
Taking antibiotics without a good reason can create bacteria (germs) within your body that become harder and harder to treat. Antibiotics are used to treat germs called “bacteria”. Without antibiotics, bacteria would be very hard to fight. In the days before antibiotics, bacterial infections were a leading cause of death. Bacteria are very adaptable and have been “learning”, over time, how to change themselves so that they can survive in the presence of antibiotics. The more exposure they have to antibiotics, they better they learn to survive (they develop antibiotic “resistance”). To make sure that adequate antibiotics are available to protect us, and that bacteria do not develop wide-spread resistance, scientists have recommended using antibiotics only when necessary.
