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Sore throat and runny nose are usually the first signs of a cold, followed by coughing and sneezing. Most people recover in 7-10 days or so. You can help reduce your risk of getting a cold by washing your hands often and avoid touching your face with unwashed hands.

Antibiotics are powerful tools for fighting illness and disease, but overuse of antibiotics has helped create bacteria that are outsmarting the drugs used to treat them.

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Can you imagine a day when antibiotics don’t work anymore? It’s concerning to think that the antibiotics that we depend upon for everything from skin and ear infections to life-threatening bloodstream infections could no longer work. Unfortunately, the threat of untreatable infections is very real.

For nearly a century, bacteria-fighting drugs known as antibiotics have helped to control and destroy many of the harmful bacteria that can make us sick. But in recent decades, antibiotics have been losing their punch against some types of bacteria. In fact, certain bacteria are now unbeatable with today’s medicines. Sadly, the way we’ve been using antibiotics is helping to create new drug-resistant “superbugs.”

Antibiotics do not fight infections caused by viruses like colds, most sore throats and bronchitis, and some ear infections. Unneeded antibiotics may lead to future antibiotic-resistant infections. Symptom relief might be the best treatment option.

Children who received zinc supplementation had 8 fewer hours of diarrheal illness and 10% less diarrheal stool volume, on average.

A set of guidelines and tips for adults and older adults to avoid or reduce adverse drug events.

CDC Vital Signs links science, policy, and communications with the intent of communicating a call-to-action for the public. CDC Vital Signs provides the most recent, comprehensive data on key indicators of important health topics.

Recommendations for the Use of Antibiotics for the Treatment of Cholera

Get Smart About Antibiotics Week 2012

Pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae is routinely treated with antibiotics, although most people will recover from the illness on their own without medicine…

CDC Vital Signs links science, policy, and communications with the intent of communicating a call-to-action for the public. CDC Vital Signs provides the most recent, comprehensive data on key indicators of important health topics.

Antibiotics save lives, but poor prescribing practices are putting patients at unnecessary risk for preventable allergic reactions, super-resistant infections, and deadly diarrhea. Errors in prescribing decisions also contribute to antibiotic resistance, making these drugs less likely to work in the future.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today began its 63rd Annual Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Conference in Atlanta, a week-long event to feature the life-saving work of its current EIS officers, or “disease detectives” and welcome the incoming class of officers to the two-year post-graduate EIS program.