Antibiotics are used to treat or prevent some types of bacterial infection. They work by killing bacteria or preventing them from reproducing and spreading.
Antibiotics aren't effective against viral infections, such as the common cold, flu, most coughs and sore throats.
Many mild bacterial infections can also be cleared by your immune system without using antibiotics, so they aren't routinely prescribed.
It's important that antibiotics are prescribed and taken correctly to help prevent the progression of antibiotic resistance. This is when a strain of bacteria no longer responds to treatment with one or more types of antibiotics.