ANTIBIOTICS are unlikely to be the answer to winter illness, GPs have said.

Doctors said they are not likely to be the remedy for coughs, colds and sore throats.

Antibiotics are used to treat or prevent some types of bacterial infection and they work by killing bacteria or preventing them from reproducing and spreading.

Doctors said that by being antibiotics aware, people can do their bit to help the prevention of ‘antibiotic resistance’, where bacteria adapt and find ways to survive the effects of the medication.

Research shows that the more antibiotics are used, the greater the chance bacteria will become resistant to them and they can no longer be used to treat infection.

This means it is vital that antibiotics are used only in the right way, as prescribed by a doctor.

Dr Preeti Shukla, clinical lead at Blackburn with Darwen CCG said: “Many people wrongly assume that antibiotics are a cure-all remedy for their winter illness – but in reality they have no effect on colds, flu and the majority of coughs and sore throats.

“Antibiotics only work on bacterial infections and bacteria find ways to become immune to the antibiotics that we take, making them less effective and in some cases stopping them from working altogether. “