Someone may call me neglectful but I don’t treat my kids’ fevers right away. (Except for my one baby who is prone to febrile seizures–totally different story there.) Nor do I rush to the doctor every time we get a case of the sniffles. I NEVER demand antibiotics. In fact, when my pediatrician prescribes them to me, I always make sure they really are absolutely necessary.
Why? I really believe that antibiotic overuse is a serious problem. I think if parents realized how easy it is for a bacterial infection to become immune to particular types of antibiotics, they would come to the same conclusion I do: use antibiotics sparingly and only when necessary. And no, just because your doctor gives you the prescription, doesn’t mean that you NEED them.
Antibiotics don’t help viral infections. And even most bacterial infections will clear up on their own without the use of antibiotics? Don’t get me wrong–I’m all for using antibiotics when necessary. But I think parents should be wary of giving their kids antibiotics without a definitive diagnosis of a bacterial infection. And I definitely don’t think parents should demand them from their pediatricians.
Someone has now published a major study that says this, and has started encouraging pediatric practices to tell parents to wait 48 hours before giving their child antibiotics for ear infections. Researchers say that by taking the “wait and see” approach, fewer prescriptions are being filled.
Of the control group, only 1/3 actually filled their prescriptions. Even more interesting however, is that there was not a quicker recovery time for those who filled their prescriptions when compared to those who didn’t fill their prescriptions. This means that ear infections usually will clear up on their own–with or without the antibiotics.
So the next time you go to your pediatrician–ask about whether you really have to fill the prescription. You might not have to. By not filling a prescription, you are not neglecting a sick child. You may potentially be saving his life by not creating a super bug that nothing will treat.
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