THE NHS has warned North-East patients to not overuse antibiotics this winter.

GPs have reported that patients frequently visit their surgeries expecting to be prescribed antibiotics, but the drugs have little or no effect on coughs and colds.

And with the NHS’s busiest time of year approaching, the Stay Well This Winter campaign is hoping to challenge common beliefs about winter ailments.

Chair of NHS Darlington Clinical Commissioning Group, Dr Andrea Jones, said: “It’s important that we use antibiotics in the right way, at the right dose to ensure they are most effective.

“Bacteria can adapt and find ways to survive the effects of antibiotics, becoming resistant so that it no longer works. The more you use an antibiotic, the more bacteria become resistant to it.

“Antibiotics can also have side effects as they upset the natural balance of bacteria potentially resulting in diarrhoea and/or thrush.

“Inappropriate use of antibiotics may also allow other more harmful bacteria to increase. The best way to treat most colds, coughs or sore throats is plenty of fluids and rest.”

The campaign was launched last month in a joint effort by NHS England and Public Health England to make people aware of how to prepare for the cold, cough and flu season.

And Professor Dame Sally Davies, the Chief Medical Officer for England, warned that antimicrobial resistance poses a “catastrophic threat” to our future health as a county, if action is not taken now.

For more information about keeping well in winter, visit www.nhs.uk/staywell