Antibiotics without diagnosis

[Cottoneyed12]

DD 18 months has been unwell since yesterday. Very lathargic yesterday, literally lay on the couch the full day which is very unlike her.

Peeled up today until recently her temp is 38.3 up from 37.4 at the doctors. Given calpol so waiting to see if it comes down.

Thing is the nurse was unable to look in her ears or throat or listen to chest as DD was having none of it. Even taking temperature was a hard battle.

But I now have antibiotics and don’t know what’s wrong. Are antibiotics ok to give even if there not really required (virus etc). I don’t want to give her antibiotics unnecessarily and cause more issues for her (thrush etc) and since I don’t know what’s wrong I don’t know if I’ll be giving her antibiotics for simply a cold or not.

Any advice

I would wait and see if she gets worse or better. Better no need if she gets worse give antibiotics

That said DS once had symptoms exactly the same no evidence of virus (higher temp though) and he needed them (I know as they only gave him a 5 day dosage literally as soon as it finished he went downhill and needed another set to get ready of it)

Do they have you antibiotics even though they couldn’t examine her? I’m very surprised.

My two have a relatively constant stream of vague bugs, mostly viruses (they are in nursery so everything goes around) and it wouldn’t even cross my mind to go to the doctors unless they were particularly ill or had been quite ill (not leaving house) for several days. A temp of 38.3 isn’t particularly high at all - I mean it’s above what it should be but not exactly raging.

Personally I’d see how she is before starting antibiotics.

What on earth did they say they were prescribing them for?

I guess the nurse thought she seemed unwell enough for it to be likely that she has an infection.

A one off course of abx is not going to cause a problem even if unnecessary on an individual basis. Thrush is unlikely but possible but can be treated.

It's a risk assessment. Lethargic child and fever, ill, but not so ill she can't fight you off, it's better to give antibiotics that turn out not to be needed, than to miss a bacterial infection that needed antibiotics because you thought it was probably a virus.