By not using antibiotics properly.

When doctors give you antibiotics, it comes with very specific instructions, called ‘prescriptions’. How many to take, when to take them, and for how long. Why do you think this is?

Prescriptions are designed so that you get at the amount of antibiotics in your body to treat your infection. If you don’t take all the antibiotics given, you don’t get the amount needed, and some of the bacteria will survive.

This may mean you stay unwell. But also, it will allow bacteria to become resistant to those antibiotics. Which makes treating you that much harder.

Now take a look at this cartoon and game.

Find out what happens when a bacterial infection starts off as one cell, grows to many bacteria cells, and then when you try to treat with antibiotics.

Bacteria — they are great at sharing!