The news that Bradford doctors prescribe the second highest amount of antibiotics in the country is deeply concerning.

In the past year alone GPs wrote out a staggering 466,000 prescriptions for the district's patients - one for almost every person across Bradford.

We are in danger of reducing the positive effects of these drugs that so many of us take for granted because the more we use them, the more the bugs can fight back.

It's only a matter of time before some deadly bacteria build up such a resistance to antibiotics that there will be nothing left in our armoury to fight them. It's vital that we all seek to cut down on their use.

Sore throats and other common symptoms are annoying and we all want to be well all of the time. But if we can battle on and allow nature to take its course, then we know antibiotics will be on hand to fight the real problems they were intended to tackle for many years to come.

Not only are we reducing their effectiveness by overuse, we are also wasting a significant amount of NHS resources in demanding drugs to treat minor ailments or viruses on which they have no effect.

Last year, it cost the NHS in the Bradford district a frightening £1.7 million to administer these drugs.

If we stopped and thought about whether we really needed them, then we could allow much-needed resources to be redirected into sectors of our hospitals that are desperate for more cash.

In the long run, reduced prescriptions will aid everyone in the district. And so being a bit of a martyr while suffering with a cough or cold could well ensure we help save another person's life.