Bl*dy great - something else for me to worry about

[emkana]

While in hospital with pneumonia ds received IV antibiotics.

Today the HV tells me that the ones he got can cause permanent hearing loss.

She wouldn't be drawn on how common this was though, and i can't remember the name of the stuff so can't find it on the web.

FFS Emkana you(and ds) deserve a break

I've googled and found this:

"Antibiotics
What are antibiotics?
Antibiotics are a group of drugs which treat bacterial infections, ranging from quite mild infections to serious, life-threatening diseases.

Which antibiotics cause hearing loss?
The group of antibiotics that are most likely to cause hearing loss are aminoglycosides. These include gentamycin, streptomycin and neomycin. These antibiotics are often used to treat serious or life-threatening bacterial infections, such as tuberculosis (TB). They are sometimes prescribed when a bacterial infection does not improve with treatment using antibiotics which are not in the aminoglycosides group.

What are the risks of using drugs from the aminoglycosides group?
The risk of hearing loss from aminoglycosides can increase depending on the following factors:

how high your dose is
how long you take it for
whether you are given it by injection.
Some research suggests that some people are very sensitive to antibacterial eardrops. These can permanently damage your hearing if you have a perforated eardrum and the drug enters your middle and inner ear, especially if the drug is taken for a long time or in a large dose.

Aminoglycosides can also cause tinnitus, as well as hearing loss. If your problems are caught in time and the drug is stopped, the tinnitus will usually go away. In some cases the hearing loss can be severe, although this is rare.

If you are prescribed aminoglycosides, you should be aware of the risk of permanent damage to your hearing. The effects are usually monitored when you are in hospital, by regular blood tests to estimate how much of the drug is in your bloodstream. However, remember that aminoglycosides are generally prescribed to treat serious, life-threatening diseases, where saving your life is felt to be more important than the possible risk of damaging your hearing."

That's the bit that's most relevant to you. It doesn't say what the likelihood is - but it sort of suggests that eardrops are more of a problem, I think?

How long did he have the IV for? That's also a factor. Have you been able to speak to a specialist about your other concerns?

He had it for 72 hours.
Still waiting to hear more about ds's diagnosis.
Thanks for finding the info, hunker.

I hesitated whether to post it or not - it's not positive, but it's not negative either. Hope the bit about it being eardrops is a small comfort (if I'm reading that right).

Emkana try not to worry. I think that the antibiotics would be gentamicin, is that right?

These can be an excellent antibiotic and in children and babies they are often used but if they are given them for more than 48hours the blood level of the drug must be measured. If the blood level is within the accepted range or lower than the accepted range then there is no risk to hearing. If the level is high then there is a very small chance of hearing probs. Usually if the level is high then the next dose is missed or the drug is given less frequently and there is no problem. If the level was very high (happens rarely) then lo should have hearing checked before going home. Problem only really likely if level of drug in body too high for long period.

Hope that this helps but tbh cannot believe that your hv would worry you about this, which is v unlikely to be a problem, when you have had so much to worry about recently. Give her a slap from me. x

Thanks for that LaDiDaDi.

I'm not sure if they measured the level in ds's blood, and they def. didn't check his hearing before going home.
HV will check hearing next week.

emkana i met a man once (in his 50's) who'd lost his hearing after a course of antibiotics..he was pretty sure they ab's had saved his life though... sorry to hear this, it's really shit

And to think that he didn't even need the antibiotics because it was viral...

I feel sick to the stomach now.
Consultant still hasn't got back to me either.

Everything's just sh*t

Sorry to hear you have yet more worry em.

Could you get a hearing test done sooner, so you hopefully don't have to worry about this for days on end?

How's Sebastian in general?

He's fine, but when I look at him I do notice every time that the chest looks small.

Even if the hearing test is okay now the hearing could still go over the next few months apparently because of the AB's.
So another waiting game there.

How are you feeling today? Any morning sickness?

Is it worth speaking to he hospital and finding out exactly what the levels were etc. it may well be your HV just spouting facts with out really knowing the finer details.

Heres hoping your next mountain is only a hill

I could ask the hospital, if they actually ever bothered to answer any questions.

I asked the consultant on Monday to contact the radiologist - via e/mail (agreed with secretary) - now is it really that hard to drop me a line back to say "Have contacted - investigations ongoing" or "Radiologist can't be reached atm" or something? Instead of just leaving me in limbo?

This is the e/mail I received from the consultant today:

"I have forwarded your e-mail to our paediatric radiologist, but he is away until 7th July. I would guess that it will take him a while to get through his mail, having been away for some time, but I will let you know when he replies, if he doesn't copy you straight in."

It really doesn't appear to be particularly important in her opinion to come to a diagnosis, or am I just too touchy?

Shameless bump because I'm feeling very upset and p*ed off with the whole situation.

One more try

My dd received IV antibiotics when she was little too and she is fine.Cannot help you with name but she is ok,I understand what a worry this can be but am hoping I can reassure you a tiny bit.
jo

Sorry to hear that you have been given something else to worry about, and hope that you are finding time to enjoy Sebastian as well .

To be honest, I think it was a bit irresponsible of the health visitor to worry you about the ABs. DS1 (now nearly 8) had IV gentamicin, along with 3 other heavy duty IV antibiotics, for around 8 days from the age of 11 days.

Just as LaDiDaDi says, they weighed him daily to calibrate all the doses precisely, and they measured the gentamicin levels in his blood daily too. Some days it was too low, and they upped the dose (he was putting on weight towards the end of his stay as he started recovering).

I asked them why they needed to do this and they said it was because the drug could have some undesirable side effects, but they didn't elaborate. My mum looked it up and found out that it was hearing loss.

Anyway, the (I hope) reassuring point being that they monitor levels very carefully in small babies, and I am sure they will have done this with Sebastian. DS1's hearing has always been absolutely fine.

Thank you - that is reassuring.

Still have my doubts though whether they checked the levels. They definitely didn't weigh him apart from when we first got there.

Oh emkana. I searched for your posts hoping for some good news- I don't know about the antibiotics, but they do seem to be amazingly casual about the radiology I hope it takes less time than it sounds, but really- what are they playing at? You couldn't send the films to the doctor in Germany who first suggested Jeune, could you?

Sorry to hear you have been dealt another blow emkana

Good news! HV has contacted hospital and the dose ds had was so small that hearing problems are not to be expected, thank God!

OMG ive missed this..i cant believe your little one has been in hosp with pneumonia!!..my heart go's out to you all

Thanks EvesMama, it was a terrible shock, but now ds is doing well, fingers crossed that he will continue that way!!!!!