What problems can arise when viral infections are treated with antibiotics?

nothing, other than the side effect of taking antibiotics(birth control is less effective, dry mouth, etc) antibiotics are not effective on treating viruses only infections

I'm a nurse. You won't have any relief for using antibiotics while fighting a virus, but you wouldn't damage your body at all. Please be advised there are no treatments for any virus, it has to wear off. Take care.

It all depends on whether you are allergic to the antibiotics which will not work on what your talking about anyway.

You apparently are one of the lower nurses in the chain, kinacl. You *can* treat viruses just fine, you just can't cure them. All you can do is shorten the length of sickness.

But antibiotics only work on bacteria based diseases. Viruses are in the gray area between life and non-life, and work completely differently, closer to parasites than anything.

Antibiotics make birth control pills less effective (although it does not effect the patch or shot versions,) and it can also give you a nasty yeast infection because the antibiotics can kill the "good" bacteria down there, so be sure to eat some yogurt to counteract it.

the main problems are side effects from the antibiotics and the increased possiblity of getting a secondary bacterial infection that is resistant to that antibiotic

Antibiotics are only effective against non viral pathogens. [Bacteria and other parasites]

Antiviral drugs are different from antibiotics, they usually target a specific enzyme [reverse transcriptase for example] to slow their proliferation.