Antibiotics Probably Won't Ease Your Cough, Even If Infection is Bacterial: Study

MONDAY, April 15, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Doctors sometimes prescribe antibiotics to help treat a cough, but a new study shows the drugs won’t help reduce the severity or duration of coughing -- even if a bacterial infection is the culprit.

Lower respiratory tract infections that cause coughing have the potential to become more dangerous, with 3% to 5% of these patients suffering from pneumonia, said lead researcher Dr. Dan Merenstein, a professor of family medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine, in Washington, D.C.