When 5-year-old Ana woke up with an earache, her parents took her to urgent care, hoping for an antibiotic. After all, last time Ana had an earache, she was prescribed antibiotics and was back to her energetic self the next day.

After examining Ana, though, the doctor didn't prescribe an antibiotic, saying it wouldn't help because Ana's infection was likely caused by a virus. Ana's parents were frustrated and confused.

But the doctor wasn't withholding medicine that would help Ana.

Antibiotics aren't always the right treatment. And taking them unnecessarily can have lasting consequences, explains Nipunie S. Rajapakse, M.D., M.P.H, an infectious diseases pediatrician at Mayo Clinic.

"Kids — and adults — can definitely be quite miserable with viral infections, and it is normal to want to do something to help your child feel better and recover faster," says Dr. Rajapakse. "But giving them an antibiotic when they have been diagnosed with a viral infection does not help them recover faster. And, in fact, can cause harm."

When antibiotics aren't the answer

Two main kinds of germs can get into the body and cause illness:

• Viruses. Viruses cause viral infections like the common cold, COVID-19, flu and some ear infections.
• Bacteria. Bacteria causes bacterial infections like strep throat, pneumonia, urinary tract infections and some ear infections.

While bacterial and viral infections might sound similar — and can even cause similar symptoms, like sore throat and runny nose — they are treated differently.

Treating viruses means easing the symptoms. This might mean taking a pain reliever or offering a cup of chicken noodle soup.

Treating bacterial infections may include taking antibiotics. That's because antibiotics are medicines that kill bacteria.

Antibiotics are not used for viruses, because they have no effect on viruses. So even if antibiotics cleared up the last sore throat, they won't work if the next one is viral. And taking antibiotics anyway could cause harm.

The problem with antibiotics

"Antibiotics can be lifesaving medications when used in the right situations," Dr. Rajapakse says. "The problem is the more antibiotics we take, the more likely we are to encourage bacteria to become resistant to them over time."

When bacteria become resistant to an antibiotic, the medicine can no longer kill those specific bacteria.

"That's why it is so important to only take antibiotics for bacterial infections when they will help someone recover faster, reduce the chances of spreading the infection to someone else, or prevent complications from developing," Rajapakse says.

The more an individual takes antibiotics, the more likely they are to develop infections caused by resistant bacteria. So giving children antibiotics only when necessary is important.

Antibiotic resistance is a serious problem. It means that people are dying because the antibiotics available will no longer kill the type of bacteria they have. Avoiding unnecessary prescriptions will help slow down that process.

What can you do instead?

Health care providers often feel pressured to prescribe antibiotics, even when those medicines won't help. Parents can help slow antibiotic resistance by instead asking their health care providers for advice on helping the child feel better.

Even if an infection is bacterial, your child might not need an antibiotic. Many common infections, like ear and sinus infections, may resolve on their own without an antibiotic. Ask your child's provider if your child's symptoms can be treated without antibiotics.

Mayo Clinic experts offer this advice on treating infections that don't need antibiotics:

• Give children the recommended dose of acetaminophen or ibuprofen for their pain while their bodies fight off the infection.
• Use a humidifier to help reduce nasal congestion, cough and sore throat.
• Offer ice pops or warm tea with honey — for children over 1 year of age — to soothe a sore throat or cough.
• Use saline rinses or sprays for a sinus infection.

"Infectious disease physicians would be happy to put ourselves out of business," Dr. Rajapakse says. One way to do that is to prevent infections. Here's how:

• Teach your child how to wash the hands properly. Hint: Singing "Happy Birthday" twice takes about 20 seconds, which is the recommended amount of time for hand-washing.
• Remind your child to use those hand-washing skills before preparing any food.
• Cook foods to safe internal temperatures. That's 145 degrees Fahrenheit (63 Celsius) for whole cuts of pork and beef and 165 degrees F (74 C) for chicken and turkey.
• Teach kids to keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered with a bandage.
• Get recommended vaccines. Vaccines protect against bacterial infections like diphtheria and whooping cough as well as viral infections like influenza and COVID-19.