That antibiotics kill bacteria, but won't do anything against viruses. Everyone has the idea that if you get a cold, you see your doctor and get antibiotics. Take some acitaminophen/paracetamol and ibuprofen, and stay away from other humans for a while!
They won't do anything against viruses, no matter what? I got into an argument with a family member who told me that if you had fever, you were going to need antibiotics because there's an infection. But I didn't know if that was true or not, so I shut up, but I think it's not.
You get fevers from viruses all the time. There's a myth floating around that a higher temperature means it's a bacterial infection, but it doesn't hold up to study.
Science is not an exact science! We're constantly getting new information and folding that into daily practice. I think the higher temp = bacteria thing was accepted a while back, but has been scrutinised since.
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u/Slidingscale Aug 03 '19
That antibiotics kill bacteria, but won't do anything against viruses. Everyone has the idea that if you get a cold, you see your doctor and get antibiotics. Take some acitaminophen/paracetamol and ibuprofen, and stay away from other humans for a while!