Question: Why won’t a doctor give antibiotics for the flu?
Influenza is due to a virus particle, which is far smaller than, and totally different to, the bacteria that antibiotics will destroy. In most cases there is no cure except time and rest, for influenza, but new medications (Relenza, Tamiflu) wen released in 1999 and 2001 respectively, appear to shorten the course of an attack of influenza if started within 36 hours of the first symptoms developing Unfortunately they are quite expensive, and not subsidized by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
There are other medications available from chemists and on prescription that will help relieve your symptoms, but giving antibiotics for flu is a waste of money and time. It may give you the side effects of the antibiotics without an) benefit, and could lead to the formation of resistant forms of bacteria.

Question: I keep hearing that there are more and more bugs becoming resistant to antibiotics. Just how many different antibiotics are there?
There are over 70 distinct and separate antibiotics listed in the medication guide (MIMS) that doctors use to guide them through the maze of medications available in this country.
Many of these antibiotics fit into a particular class such as penicillins or sulfas, and so it is likely that if a bacteria is resistant to one drug in this class, it will also be resistant to all the others.
Penicillins include drugs such as amoxycillin (also known as Amoxil), procaine penicillin (which is given by injection) and phenoxymethyl penicillin (also known as PVK).
The most common sulfa is sulfamethoxazole, which is used in utinary infections and marketed as Alprim. In combined with trimethoprim this medication is known as Bactrim or Septrim.
Combinations of antibiotics are becoming common to reduce the incidence of resistance, so amoxycillin is now often combined with clavulanic acid and marketed as Augmentin.
Another commonly used group of drugs is the cephalosporins, which include cephalexin (marketed as Keflex and Ibilex), and cefaclor (Ceclor and Vercef).
It is very much a matter of ‘horses for courses’, as specific antibiotics work better against specific bacteria, in particular places (eg. the bladder or lungs), or in certain forms (eg. as injections or creams).