Treatment
If you think you have an infection of any type—bacterial, viral, or fungal—talk with your healthcare provider. Some infections will resolve without medical intervention. Others will not and can become extremely serious. Ear infections are a good example: Some middle ear infections are caused by a virus and will get better without treatment; while other middle ear infections caused by bacteria can cause perforated eardrums, or worse, if left untreated.
The decision to use antimicrobials should be left to your healthcare provider. In some cases, antimicrobials will not shorten the course of the disease, but they might reduce your chance of transmitting it to others, as is the case with pertussis (whooping cough).
Antibiotics cannot fight against infections caused by viruses.
Antibiotics are appropriate to use when
- There is a known bacterial infection; or
- If the cause is unknown, then the consequences of not treating a condition could be devastating (e.g., in early meningitis).
Of note, the color of your sputum (saliva) does not indicate whether antibiotics are required. Most cases of bronchitis are caused by viruses; therefore, a change in sputum color does not indicate a bacterial infection.
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