Penicillin - take now or after holiday?

[cornflakegirl]

DS has an ingrown toenail that's a bit manky. He's had one course of penicillin and the GP has just prescribed a second, stronger course for 10 days.

DS is on a PGL holiday with school next week.

When we had the first lot of penicillin, we were doing calculations each day of when he expected to eat to try to make sure each dose was at least 1 hour before and 2 hours after eating. I don't think that will work next week.

Is it better to start the penicillin now, and send it with him next week to be taken at set times (not necessarily on an empty stomach) and hope that he gets most of the doses on most of the days (and finish the course when he's back). Or wait 10 days to start so we can control it better? (Should have asked the GP but it didn't occur to me at the time.)

Surely if he has an infection warranting antibiotics then he needs to take them. If you leave it a week it could well be a lot worse.

Penicillin is a faff with timings but if he needs it it will have to be sorted. Or he doesn't go.

I would start now, so he gets a few days worth at proper times before he goes. Teachers will be responsible for handing out medication, I would list out when he needs to take them and note the feeding requirements.

Now. Without question.

If you delay he may not manage to walk next week he already needs stronger ones. The school will manage the timings as best as they can it's only a few days

It was a phone consult with the GP. She hasn't seen his toe - no photo sent. Prescribed on the basis of DS saying that it improved after the first lot of penicillin and has then got worse again. The toe has been a bit manky for a while, so I don't think it's urgent urgent.

It's an activity holiday, so I suspect they won't be able to time medication an hour before eating. I'm guessing it will be just before eating, and that there may have been snacks since the last meal.

So I think it's balancing non-optimal taking of the meds (so less effective) or waiting, and the toe getting worse, so more infection for the penicillin to deal with.

We all get the debate we all say take it. One before breakfast one before bed one at 11 one at 4 meals will still be at 12 ish and 5 ish schools deal with medication all the time....you have 5 days before he goes so will be much improved by then and he will be more comfortable....leave it until he comes back and it will be worse.
If you didn't think it was bad enough why did you waste the GPS time?

Of course he starts taking it now. How old is he?

Take it now, but depending on the antibiotic it doesn't necessarily need to be taken with or after food. For example amoxicillin can be taken on an empty stomach or with food but phenoxymethylpenicillin needs to be taken on an empty stomach.

It's flucloxacillin, which needs to be taken on an empty stomach

Definitely start taking them now when you can control the timings and they early doses will have most effect at stopping the infection in its tracks then, next week once a therapeutic dose of the antibiotic is in his system it won’t be as critical if he doesn’t get exactly 1 hour before eating /2 hours after eating timings for doses.

Thanks everyone

Definayely start now. Hopefully it begins to improve before he goes away

It is better it is taken imperfectly than not taken at all or significantly delayed because you can’t do it ‘perfectly’. Don’t worry at all about the empty stomach, just ask for it to be given at regular times. If it is going to have to be given by the teachers on the trip then have a discussion with your pharmacist and ask them to provide alternative instructions to those on the bottle that the teachers can follow.