should i give antibiotic or not?

[ruty]

dd, 7 months, had high temp last friday for two days, then well, then Christmas Eve [of course] bad cough and runny nose, last night temperature again, 39 degrees. Just been to emergency docs as she has a viral rash all o ver tummy. she said she has a swollen tonsil and has given her antibiotics. dd's temperature has been ok today without calpol. she is ok in herself, but grumpy. Should i give the antibiotics? I know some of you will think i'm mad but if her temp is down and she is not unhappy i wonder if she can fight it without antibiotics, which are overused. on other hand, i don't want her to get worse...

that's w hy i went to docs again yesterday. she said she could not see any pus on tonsils, so probably viral. she said is was '50/50' as to whether to use antibiotics. I was going to start them today but her temp is normal again. one more spike and i'll start them. I hope i'm doing the right thing.

Good that she seems to be getting better, Its tricky when you get conflicting advice.

lilLAURAgladtobemeagain - different types of bacteria will be sensitive to different antibiotics, so the best one too use will depend on the bacteria thought to be causing the infection, which is why amoxycillin may not have been the best one.
Antibiotics dont work against viruses.

Ruty, just seen you last post. From what you have said, I think in your situation I would be doing the same as you.

thanks 27. I really hope i'm doing the right thing.

Sounds like a good idea, Ruty. I know what you mean about the overuse of antibiotics. This week our GP prescribed amoxycillin for DS' ear infection but said to give it a couple of days and see how I felt he was. I felt he was on the mend so never gave them. My opinion is that ABs are still given out like sweets around here and I would prefer DS not to develop a resistant strain of anything else - he already carries a couple of nasty bugs as has a compromised immue system.
As someone else said it's not going to do anything for a viral infection anyway, it's the bacterial secondary infections that it will help.
We collect any ABs we do get prescribed in powder form rather than ready mixed so that we can save them for the next time he is prescibed them instead of chucking them away. Hope your DD feels much better soon!

thanks bigbaubles. glad your ds is getting better. Yes it is the bacterial resistance i worry about too, though not sure if this works on an individual level [any idea 27?] If her temp goes up again i won't hang about though.

I think it is possible for bacterial resistance to occur in an individual if the same antibiotic is over-used, however the main concern is at a population level.

FWIW my DD is permanently on antibiotics (which very much went against my grain) as she has CF- but in spite of this her immune system is pretty good (I give her probiotic powder to help her gut flora etc.). Whenever she gets a nasty cold she has to switch antibiotic to a more braod spectrum one which is used in a preventative capacity. We rotate which broad spectrum one she uses in the hope of minimising bacterial resistance within her. Her doctor's thinking is that a bad virus can adequately weaken the immune system to allow a bacterial infection to develop- this can happen rapidly and thus in her case (due to the CF) we must use anitbiotics whenever she gets a nasty virus to stave off the bacteria. Some GPs do the same for babies and young children or the elderly as they can deteriorate so fast- it is often very hard to judge when a viral infection becomes bacterial so better to be covered as bacterial infections can be so very serious.

Hope your DD keeps improving- good luck

thankyou for that explanation JumpingJellyFish - sorry to hear about your dd, hope she gets a run of good health soon. Dd seems to get everything going and yes, she is so small, i don't want to take any chances. Feels strange to give her antibiotics when her temp is down, my throad has become sore also for ages on and off, so i wonder if it is bacterial or viral. maybe it is bacterial. I feel now i should have started them yesterday when her temp went up, but now it is down, i am thinking maybe she is getting over it. But so hard to tell.

I'm sorry to hear that your baby is ill ruty. I agree with you that anti biotics are given out like sweets by many doctors who are tired and badgered by parents.

We are in a similar position to you. My son has an ear infection and we have been told not cash in the prescription unless his ear drum perforates.

I think that children's immune systems need to learn to fight virsuses and bacteria. A healthy child (ie. with no conditon like CF) should be able to fight off most baterial infections.

Personally I think that Ruty is being very sensible.

To be honest in your shoes I would probably not give them to her yet either- like you said if she's improving and her temp's staying down then it seems as if she's over the worst and her immune system has done the job- whether it was viral or bacterial! But I think if she has another temp spike in next 24hrs I'd start them just in case- her immune system is likely to be a bit weakened from having just fought this bug so not worth taking any chances in case she picks something else up (so much going about atm).

It's so hard to tell if things have become bacterial- for the respiratory tract we've always been told to look out for green or vivid yellow snot (!), persistent wheeziness or shortness of breath, a cough that persists for longer than 5 days in association with repeated temperature spikes, then the more scary struggling to breath type symptoms (rapid shallow breathing- which can also occur with high temps- sucking in of skin around collar bones or neck and diaphragm- showing working hard to breath). All these are usually indicative of bacterial infections but nasty viruses like RSV (bronchiolitis) can cause similar symptoms.

I'm not sure about how to tell if a throat is infected other than the white spots on tonsils obvious symptom! A friend whose DH is an EHT surgeon said many people mistake a sore throat as being due to a throat infection when in fact it's often due to reflux- especially after eating rich food or drinking (and is often felt most accutely in the night or first thing in the morn)... are your glands up at all? I usually find this & my temp are most reliable in knowing if I'm fighting an infection...

Hope you all get some better luck with health soon!

thanks reallytired and jumpingjellyfish. Am now starting to worry that rash plus sore throat is scarlet fever! Doc yesterday didn't mention it and rash was dramatic for one day and less so now so i really hope not. think i will go and see our regular doc tomorrow though. She is well and happy now [fingers crossed]

Had similar dilemma with dd1 aged 4. Wasn't 100% on Xmas Day and was complaining of a sore neck. By Boxing day night she was hot and miserable and off her food - always a sign that she is not herself - mum told me to check throat and found nasty white spots. Phoned out of hours and they told me that she would get better without antibiotics but to phone back if she got worse. She did get worse and i took her in and they gave antibiotics last night. I'm not keen on giving my girls antibiotics but she was so hot and ill! Now have to concentrate on getting it in her as she hates it and doesn't want to take it at all.
Hope your baby gets well soon.

it has to be over Christmas doesn't it? hope your dd better soon saramoon.