The symptoms of a viral infection and a bacterial infection are usually pretty similar so while a hospital or medical facility may think it’s the “common cold” aka viral infection (in the us at least) they will also prescribe antibiotics “just in case” because it’s always better to treat bacterial infections sooner than later.
palmtreestatic t1_j5x5fc8 wrote
Reply to ELI5:How can a common cold viral illness turn out bacterial and require antibiotics to cure? by anonFan21
The symptoms of a viral infection and a bacterial infection are usually pretty similar so while a hospital or medical facility may think it’s the “common cold” aka viral infection (in the us at least) they will also prescribe antibiotics “just in case” because it’s always better to treat bacterial infections sooner than later.