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Using antibiotics when they are not the right medicine will not help and may even cause more harm than good. Why? Because antibiotics are medicines used to treat infections—and they target bacteria—not viruses.¹

Although Antibiotics can be lifesaving, they can have serious disadvantages. The repeated use and misuse of antibiotics can lead to resistant bacteria. Resistant bacteria are bacteria that develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them.¹

On the other hand, antibiotics will kill beneficial bacteria in the gut as well. Our bodies are full of bacteria. These bacteria, part of our microbiome, are important. Along with other micro-organisms in our body, they play a role in how we digest foods, in normal growth, and in our immune system.²

Dr. Ahmed Maher Bodon

Pediatrician

¹https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-home/medication-safety/Pages/Antibiotic-Prescriptions-for-Children.aspx

Last Updated: 11/15/2019

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics (Copyright © 2019)

²https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/giving-babies-and-toddlers-antibiotics-can-increase-the-risk-of-obesity-2018113015477

Claire McCarthy, MD - Senior Faculty Editor, Harvard Health Publishing

November 30, 2020