Cold, Flu Season Often Brings Antibiotic Overuse

Talk With Your Doctor About What Is Right For You

November 30, 2023

Cold, Flu Season Often Brings Antibiotic Overuse.

ROME, Ga., Nov. 30, 2023 – During cold and flu season, respiratory tract infections are the most common reason people ask their doctors for antibiotics, but often that is not what you need to get better.

You don't need an antibiotic for things like a sore throat, uncomplicated bronchitis, pharyngitis (inflammation of the pharynx that causes discomfort, scratchiness, pain and difficulty in swallowing), sinus infections or the common cold. 

Those illnesses are likely caused by a virus. A vaccination might prevent the flu and anti-viral medication can be used to treat it. An antibiotic, however, can't kill viruses.

In fact, taking antibiotics for viral infections like the flu, COVID-19 or other viral infections won't keep other people from getting sick or help you or your child feel better. They may even cause unnecessary and harmful side effects and contribute to antibiotic resistance.

“Antibiotic resistance is partially caused by the overuse of antibiotics," said Dr. Terrell Jenrette, who treats patients at Atrium Health Floyd Primary Care in Rockmart. “Doctors need to be willing to have difficult conversation with their patients about finding alternatives to antibiotics when they are not appropriate. There are over-the-counter remedies that can make them feel better as their body fights off the virus."

Patients also need to make sure they take all the prescribed doses if they receive an antibiotic.

“Many patients stop taking an antibiotic when they start to feel better," Jenrette said. “That results in bacteria not being completely eliminated from the body, and instead that bacteria may build up a resistance to the drugs intended to kill them."

Also, children can often get an upset stomach when they take antibiotics.

Be Antibiotics Aware is a national effort led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to fight antibiotic resistance and improve antibiotic prescribing and use. The CDC is working to make sure prescribers use the right antibiotic, at the right dose, for the right duration and at the right time. Improving the way antibiotics are prescribed and used, or “antibiotic stewardship," is critical to effectively treat infections, combat antibiotic resistance and protect patients from the harm that can come from using an antibiotic when you don't really need one.

About Atrium Health Floyd

The Atrium Health Floyd family of health care services is a leading medical provider and economic force in northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. Atrium Health Floyd is part of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, created from the combination of Atrium Health and Advocate Aurora Health. Atrium Health Floyd strategically combined with Harbin Clinic in 2024 and employs more than 5,200 teammates who provide care in over 40 medical specialties at four facilities: Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center – a 361-bed full-service, acute care hospital and regional referral center in Rome, Georgia; Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center in Cedartown, Georgia; and Atrium Health Floyd Cherokee Medical Center in Centre, Alabama; and Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center Behavioral Health, also in Rome. Together, Atrium Health Floyd and Harbin Clinic provide primary care, specialty care and urgent care throughout northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. Atrium Health Floyd also operates a stand-alone emergency department in Chattooga County, the first such facility to be built from the ground-up in Georgia.

About Advocate Health

Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit, integrated health system in the United States, created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois; Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama; and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health services nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. Advocate Health is nationally recognized for its expertise in heart and vascular, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs more than 160,000 teammates across 69 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations and offers one of the nation's largest graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to redefining care for all, Advocate Health provides more than $6 billion in annual community benefits.