Antibiotics are given for many ailments. But when taking antibiotics, one should have to follow certain guidelines prescribed by the doctor. The antibiotics will act in the body only if the prescribed dosage is taken for the prescribed time. Most of the time people fail in taking the antibiotics; they stop the drug once they start feeling better.

The major concern regarding antibiotics is skipping the dosages and stopping the treatment before a course. Another thing is that some even take left over medicines for some illness. All this means that that the illness will be prolonged and even it could be spread to others. Therefore, it is advised to strictly follow the doctor’s direction when using antibiotics.

Generally people skip the doses and even stop the dosage in the middle of a course once they start to feel better. The main problem is that even though the symptoms may have disappeared after a few doses, the bacteria may be still lying in the body. This leads to the bacteria growing resistance to the antibiotics.

Another thing that has to be noted is that the antibiotics may not cure viral infections; antibiotics are effective against infections of the bacteria. So in case of cold or influenza, which is caused by viral infection, antibiotics will have no impact. But people may treat these infections with antibiotics, which will only prolong the infection. It is also a waste of time if the viral infections are treated using antibiotics.

Another thing is that if antibiotics are taken with out any infection of the bacteria, it can be more dangerous as the bacteria tend to become more resistant to the medicine.