Antibiotics are drugs used to treat bacterial infections. Most are available only with a prescription. For decades, concern has been mounting about the public health risks of resistance from using antibiotics inappropriately. The consequence of this is that antibiotics don’t work as well as they once did. The most widely discussed resistant bacteria is Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, or MRSA. MRSA is generally resistant to most penicillin-related antibiotics. To treat MRSA, more aggressive or newer antibiotics are often used with much success. However, experts agree that it is only a matter of time before resistance to these drugs develops. To reduce resistance, health care professionals take a guarded approach to the use of antibiotics and ensure that antibiotics are used only when appropriate. However, patients can also play a key role in reducing resistance by completing antibiotic courses (even if the infection appears to have resolved), only using prescribed antibiotics, and understanding that antibiotics do not treat viral infections, such as the common cold.

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