Why doesn't the doctor prescribe antibiotics for my baby's cold?

Matilda Hunt

Family GP.

Antibiotics can't fight your baby's common cold because it's been caused by a virus. Antibiotics don't kill viruses, they kill bacteria.

This means that antibiotics only work against diseases and infections caused by bacteria, such as scarlet fever or impetigo.

Antibiotics are important medicines, but may do more harm than good if they are taken when they're not needed, because:

  • We all carry bacteria up our noses and in our digestive tracts. Some of these bacteria are helpful to our health. But when we take antibiotics, the antibiotics kill these helpful bacteria along with the harmful bacteria.

  • Bacteria are clever. They can change and develop resistance to common antibiotics, making the antibiotics useless against them. The resulting superbugs are even more difficult to kill. So a baby who is treated too often with antibiotics can develop resistant organisms that are very hard to get rid of when he's ill.

  • Antibiotics may cause diarrhoea and allergic reactions. Diarrhoea happens when antibiotics wipe out the protective bacteria in your baby's body. Allergic reactions may happen if your baby is often treated with antibiotics.

  • Using antibiotics unnecessarily may have harmful effects on the wider population. As disease-causing germs become more resistant to antibiotics, bacterial illnesses become increasingly difficult to treat.

Babies tend to get a lot of colds because their immune systems are still developing and gaining strength. Your baby's cold should clear up within 10 days, or up to two weeks if he is a newborn. But you should see some signs of improvement after five days.

It can be tough to watch your little one suffer, but there are ways to ease his discomfort while you wait for his cold to run its course.

Last reviewed: March 2013

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hello my baby got fever and diarrhea for the past 4 days she was given some antibiotics and some injections. but still i see no difference what could be the problem still. . am still giving her ORS and Zinc tablets plus other medication baby had a cold and the doc gave him antibiotics but now he has diarrhea and it's hurting his little bum. I'm giving probiotics prescribed by the doc but they don't seem to be working. He's had diarrhea for close to 2 weeks now. I'm also giving him some yoghurt. How can I stop the diarrheal, are there any homemade cures
My 8 month old has been poorly since NYE. She is now on antibiotics and has had 9 dirty nappies today which I've changed straight away but she has a nasty nappy rash which looks swollen. She doesn't have an infection they just dont know what is wrong!! Should I stop giving her the antibiotics?? X

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