The use of antibiotics to treat the common cold has the potential to significantly harm your health. How we diagnose and treat these illnesses is of utmost importance, not so much with regards to attempting to “cure the cold,” but rather to not offer ineffective and inappropriate prescription medications, specifically in the form of antibiotics. Incorrectly prescribing antibiotics increases the likelihood of adverse drug reactions, increased expenditures within a limited health care budget and, perhaps most importantly, worsens the already present problem of antibiotic resistance.
What is an Upper Respiratory Infection and What Causes it?
An upper respiratory infection is defined as an infection caused by a pathogen (an agent that can cause a disease) that occurs in the nose, sinuses and/or throat. The symptoms of an upper respiratory infection are body aches, low-grade fevers, nasal congestion, sinus pain and pressure, sore throat, and cough that can last from a few days to approximately two weeks.
By far, the most common pathogens that cause these infections are viruses (as opposed to bacteria). It is vital to understand that viruses and bacteria are very different classes of pathogens that are not treated the same and it is your physician’s job to determine which of these microorganisms is most likely causing your infection.
Generally speaking, if your symptoms are relatively mild as described above, your physician should diagnose you with a viral infection and it is important to understand that the color of your mucus, even if it is yellow or green, is not predictive of having a bacterial infection and is, therefore, not a reason to request or prescribe antibiotics.
Antibiotics and Drug Resistance
Antibiotics simply do not work to alleviate or shorten the duration of colds. In fact, using antibiotics in this setting can be quite harmful. Although enormously beneficial for the treatment of bacterial infections, over the past 70 years antibiotic use has also been associated with bacteria adapting to them, a process better described as “drug resistance,” which, in turn, has rendered these medications less effective. Unfortunately, one of the prime reasons that bacteria have developed resistance to antibiotics is their misuse in treating the common cold.
If a patient is infected with drug-resistant bacteria it is more likely that he or she will have a difficult time eradicating the infection. The first-line antibiotic will not be effective, the infection may linger or progress, and additional antibiotics will be required that are expensive and may have side effects. Hospital stays can be prolonged and the patient will be more likely to die as a result of the infection.
How Best to Treat a Cold
So, what can be done to alleviate this situation? To begin, learn to recognize the symptoms of a cold caused by virus (described above). If you think that you have a cold, it is best to rest, drink plenty of fluids and use a nasal saline spray to lessen nasal congestion. It is also ok to use acetaminophen, ibuprofen or naproxen to help relieve pain or fever. Consider judicious use of over-the-counter cold remedies, which may alleviate some of your symptoms but have not been proven to shorten the duration of your illness.
When you have a cold, it is also important to minimize the chance that you will infect those around you. Cover your face and nose when coughing or sneezing and wash your hands or use a hand-sanitizer. If your symptoms worsen, high fever develops or if you have trouble breathing, you should contact your physician right away.
Sam Altstein, DO, is a Family Practitioner at Beth Israel Medical Center.