Antibiotics twice for 6m old?

[Kraut]

Would you give a 6m old baby antibiotics for the second time if he has only a cold (nose is blocked)?
My nephew had a bronchitis and cold before christmas and is much better now.
The pediatrician (they live in Germany) told my sister to give antibiotics again as the lo could not cope with the cold.
My sister is a bit reluctant to give antibiotics again as the lo is not very ill and she fears that his immune system will never build up that way.
What would you do? Wait till it goes away without giving the hammer medication?

Thank you for your opionons!

[belgo]

Why does the doctor not think he will cope with a cold?

If his mother doesn't think he is very ill, then I wouldn't give the antibiotics.

[Kraut]

The doctor said his immune system can obviously not get rid of the cold but on the other hand he said the baby is not very ill. Sounds a bit contradictory, doesn't it?

[belgo]

That's a hard one. I wonder what another doctor's opinion would be.

Is the baby eating , drinking and sleeping ok?

[PrettyCandles]

Colds are caused by viruses, so antibiotics won't help a cold. If he has recovered from the bronchitis then surely there's no point giving abs any more. Children - and babies - can have colds that last weeks, as they pick up another virus before clearing that last one. It is actually beneficial for them: studies have shown that children who have had two or more colds a year in their early years (ie before starting school) are healthier once they start school than those who didn't have colds.

[Kraut]

Apparantly the snot is not clear but yellowish which is an indication that there is also a bacterial infection.
Still, that doesn't immediately mean to use a hammer, does it?

[belgo]

Most snot from the nose is yellow, that's a fairly normal colour when someone has a cold. I wouldn't want to be given antibiotics based on that alone.

If he is coughing up yellow mucus, then he might need antibiotics, as it might indicate a chest infection.

[PrettyCandles]

As the snot thickens it gets more opaque, going yellowy and even green. Thin, runny snot is usually clear or milky. If it was thin, runny and very yellow, then maybe that would indicate infection. Never come across it myself, though.

[belgo]

Kraut, what's happened now? Did she give the antibiotics?

Prettycandles - whilst on the subject of snot, my dd aged 18months had a small amount of brown snot coupled with a very high temperature. I told this to my GP and suggested it might be sinusitus, she told me it was a virus and there was nothing she could do. The next day may dd woke up with her face and neck swollen to twice it's size, and she was very sick with it. We took her to the emergency GP, who , surprise surprise, diagnosed sinusitus, and prescribed antibiotics. I'm still angry with the original GP for not listening to me.

[PrettyCandles]

A little snot and I high temp don't sound like a cold to me! Did the GP actully pay any attentio to what you ewere saying!?