Antibiotics

An antibiotic is a drug that is used to kill or prevent the growth of bacteria. They have no effect against viruses or fungal infections. Their effectiveness vary widely on various types of bacteria (some antibiotics are good only for certain types of bacteria, a "strong" one may not be effective in some infections). Possible side effects are varied, and range from fever and nausea to major allergic reactions, (one of the more common is diarrhea). Common forms of antibiotic misuse include failure to take the entire prescribed course of the antibiotic, or failure to rest, usually because the patient feels better, but before the infecting organism is completely eradicated. Another common mistake of this would be the use of antibacterials for viral infections such as the common cold. These practices can result in antibiotic resistance in which the bacteria survive the shortened treatment and the antibiotics no longer act on them (and we need to pay large amounts of money to look for new ones).