Don’t ask doctors for antibiotics for the common cold

Cost: It costs nothing and can even save you money on medicine.
In plain terms: Taking antibiotics for a cold doesn’t speed up recovery compared to not taking them at all. For adults, the risk of side effects is more than twice as high when using antibiotics. For cases where nasal discharge with pus lasts less than 10 days, there is no clear benefit to taking antibiotics either.
Benefit: A Cochrane systematic review pooled data from 6 randomized trials involving 1,147 participants. When comparing antibiotic use to placebo for treating colds, there was no significant difference in the proportion of people who did not recover or whose symptoms persisted (RR 0.83, 95% CI 0.60–1.14, no statistically significant difference). The risk of adverse reactions was 1.8 times higher than in the placebo group (95% CI 1.01–3.21). For adults specifically, this risk was 2.62 times higher (1.32–5.18), while no increase was observed in children (RR 0.91, 0.51–1.63). For acute purulent rhinitis where nasal discharge with pus lasts less than 10 days, antibiotics also showed no clear benefit (RR 0.73, 0.47–1.13). However, the risk of adverse reactions rose by roughly 46% (RR 1.46, 1.10–1.94). The authors concluded that routine use of antibiotics is not recommended for either of these conditions.
Evidence grade: A
Sources:Kenealy T, Arroll B (2025). Antibiotics for the common cold and acute purulent rhinitis. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 11:CD000247. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD000247.pub4
Notes: This updated version was released in 2025; the abstract states that literature searches were conducted up to 2013. Antibiotics are prescription-only drugs in China, so pharmacies must sell them only with a valid prescription. Do not take leftover antibiotics at home without medical advice. The “moderate” rating for benefits is based on the fact that antibiotics primarily reduce the risk of adverse reactions rather than preventing death.