Don't ask for an antibiotic when you don't need it

If you have the flu or a cold, but are not really sick, you probably know what to do.

Increase your intake of healthy fluids, use a cool mist vaporizer or saline nasal spray to relieve congestion, sooth your throat with ice chips, sore throat spray or lozenges, and take an over-the-counter medication recommended your pharmacist to relieve symptoms. (And don't give children aspirin, because it can cause Reye's Syndrome, which can be fatal.)

If you're more seriously ill, then by all means, go see your doctor. But don't expect her or him to give you an antibiotic for a viral disease.

The reason is simple. It won't work.

And not only that, over-use of antibiotics through the years has robbed medicine of one of its most effective tools.

Infections that were once easily treatable with antibiotics no longer are, because antibiotics, used extensively in medicine, veterinary practice and agriculture, have caused bacteria to become immune to them, according to Dr. Mark E. Rupp, epidemiologist of the Nebraska Medical Center and professor of infectious diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

One example is methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureas (staph) -- MRSA -- a bacterium that is immune to all forms of penicillin.

Staph is everywhere in the environment, and a break in the skin can make someone susceptible to an infection. That's why it's important antibiotics are used only when they are absolutely necessary, so bacteria don't develop immunity and negate treatment like those caused by MRSA, said Dr. Joannn Schaefer, chief medical officer of the Nebraska Health and Human Services System.

"Antibiotics do not treat flu, colds or other virals illnesses, and they don't make patients with viral infections feel better, recover faster, or protect others from getting sick," she said.

So if you have a cold or the flu, drink fluids, take a pain reliever and get plenty of rest. And if you do need to see your doctor, don't apply pressure to be prescribed an antibiotic.

Some day, when you really need that medicine, you'll be glad it's still available and effective.