Here is why giving antibiotics to your child without consulting a doctor is a bad idea

Here is why giving antibiotics to your child without consulting a doctor is a bad idea
You think antibiotics should be given to kids to treat anything from fever, cold and cough, rashes etc?

You think antibiotics should be given to kids to treat anything from fever, cold and cough, rashes etc? Then read this...

Many parents prefer to give their children an antibioticfor any illness – fever, sore throat, ear infection, etc. However, antibiotics are not necessary for any and every childhood illness. ‘Most of the time, a bout of fever, cold and cough or flu are due to viral infections and don’t need an antibiotic to be treated. In fact, using too many antibiotics can lead to antibiotic resistance and other troubles during infancy and adulthood,’ says Dr Gorika Bansal, paediatrician, Dr Gorika’s Children’s Medical Centre, Delhi.

Sometimes parents don’t even know that they are giving their children antibiotic especially if you keep an old prescription or half-used syrup in the cabinet and use it if the symptoms are similar to the previous illness. This is dangerous. If the medication prescribed was an antibiotic and it is given for a viral infection it can make the child sicker. Also, some antibiotics that have to be reconstituted — sterile water is added to a powder to make the syrup — may have to be discarded after a specific period such as a week. So you need to read the instructions carefully and not store and reuse such antibiotics

‘Often a viral infection has a multi-pronged approach. A child suffering from a viral infection might have a cough, cold, fever, diarrhoea, backpain, congested eyes, runny nose all coupled together. Usually, the child is playful between the episodes of fever, eats though sparingly and looks fine when the episodes of fever subside. A viral infection is self limiting and abates itself by five or seven days. Plenty of liquids, rest and just paracetamol to treat fever can be enough. However, in a bacterial infection, the child looks more sick, might have localised infection like a sore throat with pain and vomiting and painful nodes in the neck. But these are just mere symptoms a doctor might have to do a detailed check-up both physical and pathological (blood and urine tests) to ascertain whether the illness is a viral or bacterial manifestation. So leave the diagnosis to your doctor,’ says Dr Bansal. An antibiotic is only prescribed or should be given when the illness is due to a bacterial infection.

Here is what an overdose of antibiotic can do to your child:

It can lead to pseudo colitis and lead to antibiotic-associated diarrhoea which can rob the body of good bacteria and electrolytes making your child dehydrated. It could lead to side-effects like rashes, allergies if your child is allergic to penicillin or related products. It could also lead to gut inflammation or IBS in children. It develops antibiotic resistance in children and they can develop life-threatening complications if the bug stops responding to medications later.

What you should do:

Always visit the doctor first before giving your child any kind of medication, not only antibiotics. Never use previously used antibiotics that you have in your medicine cabinet. Don’t just assume that your child has a viral infection, if the symptoms persist for more than a week, visit your doctor immediately. Never reuse antibiotics given during a previous consultation

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