An explanation of what antibiotics are may clear up any confusion about it.
Antibiotics are a type of medication used to treat infectious diseases. If you break the word "antibiotic" down into its individual parts, you have the prefix "anti" that specifies antagonism and the suffix "bio" that refers to life. Literally, an antibiotic would suggest that it's a medication that kills any living thing. Of course, that is not entirely true. People do understand that antibiotics acts against microorganisms.
But do they target all microorganisms? Not quite. Microscopic pathogens include bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites, but antibiotics work against bacteria. Viruses are treated with antiviral medications, fungi are treated with antifungal medications, and parasites are treated with other medications. The term "antibiotic" might be used a little incorrectly because it actually refers to an antibacterial medication.
It's especially confusing for people with minor infections. For example, a patient may have a sore throat that a doctor concludes is from a virus, not a bacterium, based on certain physical findings. In such a case, the patient may expect to be given antibiotics and even assume the doctor does not care when he or she tells the patient that no medications are needed. However, antibiotics are for bacterial infections, not viral infections. Viral upper respiratory infections are usually self-limited in their natural course.
In any event, asking a doctor or consulting a medical dictionary may resolve such situations, even if one may think he or she knows the definition already.
