Host: Can I get an antibiotic for a cold? Ronald Turner: Well, antibiotics really are not useful for colds. Colds are caused by viruses. There are no antibiotics to treat the viruses that cause colds. So, from that perspective, antibiotics are not useful. Antiviral drugs which potentially might be useful for common colds are there is some limited availability. Really, the only poise that we have anything like that is for influenza. There are some drugs that are available for influenza. But, most people would not really seek those drugs for treatment of common cold symptoms. Those are generally going to be reserved for individuals who have typical flu, more severe disease.