For decades, children with earaches have been given antibiotics to treat ear infections. Such infections are very common, affecting three-fourths of youngsters by the time they reach their third birthday. But the American Academy of Pediatrics now says that antibiotics should not be given routinely. Their new guidelines urge doctors to diagnose ear infection only in children whose eardrums are red and bulging. Other children with ear pain should be offered pain relievers, while antibiotics should be reserved for kids who have had pain and swelling for two days or who have a fever over 102.
This is not the first time that pediatricians have been admonished to reserve antibiotics for the ear infections that really require treatment. In many cases, children recover without such treatment, and antibiotics do have potential side effects. In addition, there is a public health consideration, in that frequent use of antibiotics may lead to the germs developing resistance so that the drugs become less useful when they are really needed. One study of 65,000 children found that antibiotics were being over-prescribed.
Parents can help by not insisting on antibiotics for every earache. But if the child is quite ill, running a fever, the doctor should be informed. Parents and doctors might negotiate this be having the doctor give out a prescription that would be filled and used only if the problem persists for at least two days.
1/17/19 redirected to: https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/articles/how-serious-is-the-problem-of-inappropriate-antibiotics/
