International health officials say more patients should be told to go home and rest rather than be given antibiotics. Overusing antibiotics is making infections harder to treat by creating drug-resistant superbugs. It is estimated that by 2050, drug-resistant infections around the world are expected to kill more people than currently die from cancer. Antibiotics are vital in cases of pneumonia, bacterial meningitis and other severe infections. But health officials warn that antibiotics are not essential for every illness. Coughs or bronchitis can take up to three weeks to clear on their own, but antibiotics reduce that by only one to two days, it says. So instead, for infections that the body can handle, the advice is to have plenty of rest, use pain relief such as paracetamol and drink plenty of fluids.
