Antibiotics
What it really means
Medicines for bacterial infections, available only on prescription in the UK. GPs will not prescribe them for colds or flu (which are viruses), and pharmacies cannot sell them without a prescription.
Context, tips & common mistakes
UK doctors prescribe antibiotics conservatively — colds, flu, most sore throats and most coughs are viral, and no amount of feeling terrible makes antibiotics work on a virus. Patients from countries where antibiotics flow freely (or sit on pharmacy shelves) often read this as being fobbed off; it is actually stewardship against resistance, applied to everyone. Pushing rarely moves a UK GP, but honest severity data does: fever duration, breathing changes, symptoms worsening after improving — describe those and the assessment sharpens.
The middle ground you may meet is the 'delayed prescription': a script to cash only if things worsen by day X — take the deal, it works. Non-negotiables: antibiotics are prescription-only here (no pharmacy handouts, and never buy from websites), finish or dispose of courses as directed, and do not import the habit of self-medicating from a stash brought from home — wrong antibiotic, wrong bug, real harm.
Example conversation
What you could say back
No spoken reply needed for this one.