Patients need rest, not antibiotics: health officials

Patients should be told to go home and rest rather than receive antibiotics, health officials have said.

Public Health England (PHE) says up to a fifth of antibiotic prescriptions are unnecessary as many illnesses go away on their own.

Overusing antibiotics is making infections harder to treat by creating drug-resistant superbugs.

PHE says patients have a part to play in stopping the rise of infections. It estimates that by 2050 drug-resistant infections around the world are will kill more people than currently die from cancer, and reveals that 5,000 people die in England each year as a result of drug-resistant infections. Additionally, four in 10 cases of bloodstream E. coli infections now cannot be treated with first-choice antibiotics.

PHE says antibiotics are not essential for every illness. Coughs or bronchitis, for example, can clear on its own within three weeks.

Instead of taking antibiotics, health officials are recommending patients to have plenty of rest, use pain relief such as paracetamol and drink plenty of fluids.

Paul Cosford, medical director at PHE, told the BBC: “We don't often need antibiotics for common conditions.

"The majority of us will get infections from time to time and will recover because of our own immunity.

“A doctor will be able to tell you when an antibiotic is really necessary.

"The fact is if you take an antibiotic when you don't need it then you're more likely to have an infection that the antibiotics don't work for over the coming months."