Should I wake my one year old for her fourth antibiotic dose

[TwinkleTwinkleX]

My 1 year old is on antibiotics for a throat infection, 4 times a day for 5 days. We are on day 3 and she’s lots better. Naps are all over the place atm and she’s fallen asleep before her fourth dose today, do I wake her or just do it first thing? I know it’s important to keep on top of but she’s sleeping so peacefully and needs the rest..

Wake her.
It's unfortunate but she needs the medication.

No point in taking them if you aren’t taking them properly unfortunately

Wake her. You need to finish the course of antibiotics as prescribed.

Is she likely to wake up in the night and you could give them then? Or is she the sort of child where you can get them in while she's half asleep?

This is a relatively risky point from the point of view of antibiotic resistance. This is because of you imagine all the bacteria sitting round, the antibiotic is essentially a poison for them. So the first doses kill the weakest bacteria. Then the rest of the bacteria start dying off. But if any of them have a gene that means the poison effects then less, they won't be dead yet. The poison essentially has a cumulative effect - if you keep hitting them with it, even the stronger ones eventually succumb. Whereas if you miss a dose, it gives an opportunity for those remaining bacteria to multiply, which increases the risk that one gains another beneficial mutation making them even harder to kill.

I would wake her. She's on then mend because of the antibiotics and taking them properly means she will be well sooner. I know it seems counter productive but I wouldn't mess about with the timings.

Thanks, I will do as recommended and wake her.. wish me luck ha

Antibiotic resistance doesn’t work like this ffs

You're right of course that I doubt it would make a scientific journal but as a simplified explanation in lay terms I think it's broadly fine.

E.g. this explanation is reviewed by an MD: https://ubiehealth.com/doctors-note/missed-antibiotic-dose-10-wk3-exp3

I didn't think going into plasmids, non-clonal reproduction or dose half lives would be useful, but if you have a better explanation then I'm sure people would be pleased to read it, and I'll be sure to take note for next time I need to explain.

Yep wake gently, have a little cup
of water for a sip to wash it down. They generally nod back off especially if poorly.

I wouldn't wake mine for a single missed dose on day 3 of 5, I would just add it on to the end of the course so she still had all the doses. A single dose isn't going to alter the therapeutic levels in the body so much that it has any significant impact, especially at this stage in the course.

I caveat that with if she woke in the night I would give it then