How long will they go on for? Do you need antibiotics? Helpful advice to ease your symptoms, and what to look out for. If in doubt, pop in to see your local Pharmacist.

Antibiotics are important medicines. They help fight infections that are caused by bacteria. Antibiotic resistance is driven by overusing antibiotics and prescribing them inappropriately. It's important that we use antibiotics the right way, to slow down resistance and make sure these life-saving medicines remain effective for us and future generations.

Many common infections are caused by germs called viruses. Antibiotic medicines do not kill viruses. Also, many infections caused by germs called bacteria do not need antibiotics. This is why antibiotics are not prescribed for many infections. Learn more...

Learn about the antibiotics available. Learn whether a particular drug is suitable for you and how it should be taken, including advice about diet, alcohol intake and whether it can be taken at the same time as other medicines. 

Antibiotics are a group of medicines that are used to treat infections caused by bacteria and certain parasites. They do not work against infections that are caused by viruses - for example, the common cold or flu. Antibiotics are normally only prescribed for more serious bacterial infections - for example, pneumonia. Find out about what antibiotics are, how they are used, side effects and types of antibiotics.

All medicines can cause side effects, and it's important that it is known what these are. If you think you have had a side-effect to one of your medicines you can report this on the Yellow Card Scheme.
The Yellow Card Scheme is used to make pharmacists, doctors and nurses aware of any new side-effects that medicines may have caused.