Frequently Asked Questions

Is over prescribing of antibiotics for viral infections really a problem?
According to the CDC, even though prescribing rates have decreased, current data suggest that, for all ages combined, more than ten million courses of antibiotics are prescribed each year for viral conditions that do not benefit from antibiotics.

The Get Smart campaign targets the five respiratory conditions that in 1992 accounted for more than 75% of all office-based prescribing for all ages combined: otitis media (ear infection), sinusitis, pharyngitis (sore throat), bronchitis, and the common cold.

Have SC Careful Antibiotic Use (CAUse) and the CDC’s Get Smart prevention efforts worked in the community?
In 1996, when the national careful antibiotic use educational campaigns began and 1998 when the state campaign began, there has been a decrease in the percent of patients receiving an antibiotic for upper respiratory infections usually caused by a virus from 42 percent to 29.7 percent in 2006. This information was collected from the South Carolina Medicaid claims system. It is still important to continue these educational efforts over a decade later! (See South Carolina Trends in Antibiotic Prescribing for Upper Respiratory Infections.)


Why should we be concerned about antibiotic resistance?
Antibiotic resistance is one of the key microbial threats to health in the United States and is among the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) top concerns. Antimicrobial resistance in germs causing respiratory infections has become a common clinical problem. Resistance is associated with the use of all antibiotics in healthcare and outpatient settings. Decreasing the inappropriate use of antibiotics has been identified as a primary solution to prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance.  


Information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
Antibiotic resistance has been called one of the world's most pressing public health problems. Over the last decade, almost every type of bacteria has become stronger and less responsive to antibiotic treatment when it is really needed. These antibiotic-resistant bacteria can quickly spread to family members, schoolmates, and co-workers - threatening the community with a new strain of infectious disease that is more difficult to cure and more expensive to treat. For this reason, antibiotic resistance is among CDC's top concerns.
Antibiotic resistance can cause significant danger and suffering for children and adults who have common infections, once easily treatable with antibiotics. Microbes can develop resistance to specific medicines. A common misconception is that a person's body becomes resistant to specific drugs. However, it is microbes, not people, that become resistant to the drugs.
If a microbe is resistant to many drugs, treating the infections it causes can become difficult or even impossible. Someone with an infection that is resistant to a certain medicine can pass that resistant infection to another person. In this way, a hard-to-treat illness can be spread from person to person. In some cases, the illness can lead to serious disability or even death.


What more do I need to know?  

Bacteria and Viruses
Two main types of germs, bacteria and viruses, cause most infections. In fact, viruses cause most coughs and sore throats and all colds. Bacterial infections can be cured by antibiotics, but common viral infections never are. Your child recovers from these common viral infections when the illness has run its course.

Resistant Bacteria
New strains of bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics. These bacteria are not killed by the antibiotic. Some of these resistant bacteria can only be treated in the hospital. And a few are already untreatable. The more antibiotics prescribed, the higher the chance that your child will be infected with resistant bacteria.

How Bacteria Become Resistant
Each time we take antibiotics, sensitive bacteria are killed, but resistant ones may be left to grow and multiply. Repeated or improper use of antibiotics is the main cause of the increase in resistant bacteria. These resistant bacteria can also be spread to others in the family and community.

You can help to protect your child and community from the spread of resistant bacteria.
Learn about the differences between bacterial and viral infections, and talk to your child's doctor about them. Understand that antibiotics should not be used for viral infections.

The type of infection may change.
Viral infections may sometimes lead to bacterial infections. But treating viral infections with antibiotics to prevent bacterial infections does not work, and may lead to infection with resistant bacteria. Keep your doctor informed if the illness gets worse or lasts a long time, so that proper treatment can be given, as needed.

When are antibiotics needed, and when are they not needed?
This complicated question is best answered by your doctor, and the answer depends on the specific diagnosis. Here are a few examples:

Commonly Asked Questions

What can I do to protect my child from antibiotic-resistant bacteria?
Use antibiotics only when your doctor has determined that they might be effective. Antibiotics will not cure most colds, coughs, sore throats, or runny noses. Children fight off colds on their own.

If mucus from the nose changes from clear to yellow or green, does this mean that my child needs an antibiotic?
Yellow or green mucus does not mean that your child has a bacterial infection. It is normal for the mucus to get thick and change color during a viral cold.

How do I know if my child has a viral or bacterial infection?
Ask your doctor. If you think that your child might need treatment, you should contact your doctor. But remember, colds are caused by viruses, and should not be treated with antibiotics.