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Antibiotics course nearly finished but still coughing - back to Dr or wait?

2 replies

beerandskittles · 01/06/2009 23:10

Hi, my 11 m.o. has nearly finished her course of antibiotics for a nasty cough (I'd say she has about enough left for the whole of tomorrow but none left for the day after that). She's been on them since Wednesday night (and, um, its now Monday night) and although she's much improved, she's still coughing. She isn't wheezing or crying with it any more, and it's less frequent, but still sounds quite phlegmey. I'm not too worried as I had her to the Dr with a similarly-bad-sounding cough a week before tthe one that called for antibiotics started, and they said it was ok. But if the infection hasn't quite cleared then I assume I need to take her back to the Dr.

The thing is, I want to balance creating an upset cranky baby by disrupting her nap to take her to the Dr at a nuisance time of day with a long wait in the waiting room if it's unnecessary, against the risk of not taking her back if it is necessary.

I'm sure the Drs would say 'wait for her to finish her course and then see if she's better'(only one day to go), but meanwhile, all the available appointment slots will have filled up and it will be another day or two before we can go in.

So I suppose I'm asking - would you expect a milder cough to persist after an infected one has cleared? (i.e. is it likely that it's anything to worry about)? And if it's likely to be a problem, should I have her seen before the course has finished, or the very next day, or wait a bit (i.e. make no appointment until the course has finished?)

Sorry if rambling, OH hassling me to look up something else I promised to do

OP posts:
doulalc · 02/06/2009 22:58

Are you able to see the color of the phlegm? If it is basically clear or white, she isn't running a fever, and she seems ok other than the cough, I'd give it a bit more time. Coughs can hang on for awhile, being more of an annoyance than a true concern.

Certainly if she appears to still be ill, funs a fever, the cough doesn't continue to gradually improve, or anything else that leads you to believe it hasn't been sorted out, take her back in.

beerandskittles · 09/06/2009 21:48

Thanks, doulac! It was clear, with no temperature, and also I'd underestimated how much gloop was left in the bottle - in the end it was enough to take her to the end of Wednesday, by which time the cough had in fact gone.

Very helpful advice for next time though; thanks for your reply!

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