Inhalers, antibiotics and steroids???? Worried!

[meganellicott]

Hi,
My little girl (20 months) has been prescribed an inhaler, antibiotics and steroids for a chest infection. Is this not a little bit much? I though most coughs and wheezes were viral, in which case, why does she need antibiotics, and you hear all sorts of nasty things about steroids so I really don't want to give them to her unnecessarily.
Any advice or opinions would be great...
Thanks xx

My children had a few doses of steroids for wheezes when they were small and had an inhaler for a while.
The horror stories you hear about steroids are either when used illegally or when being taken long term, the short term treatment given in this sort of case is not a problem.
Can't comment on the antibiotics but I presume she has a chest infection which is commonly bacterial hence antibiotics.

Please do give her the treatment, children that age can deteriorate really quickly, doctors don't give out steroids unless necessary and breathing is a fairly important function. Hope she feels better soon, I've just had a chest infection treated with steroids and AB's and felt much better quickly.

They wouldn't have given it if they didn't think it was needed.

Please give the medicines, not doing so is much more likely to cause harm than giving medication. DS has permenatly scarred lungs due to an infection when he was a baby (his was confirmed viral so couldn't treat with antibiotics although even then he had profolactic ones to stop anything else getting in)