Should I give my 10 month old antibiotics? I'm thinking not.....

[happilyeverafta]

Hi all,

My 10 month old DD started nursery in September and ever since she’s had a chesty cough, snotty nose and cough. It is up and down, have taken her to the doctors twice, no temp, no rattle on her chest and doctor said it’s viral and will take a while to go. I am giving her cough mixture and Vic’s on her feet etc.

He prescribed antibiotics on the first visit but I’ve not given them to her as of yet.

My DM is of course worrying me saying she needs them now but I genuinely think it’s just the ‘nursery illnesses’ and taking a while to go?

So Oh Wise Mumsnetters WWYD?

I'd take the advice of the medically trained professional.

The doctor said it was a virus and then prescribed antibiotics?

But aren’t antibiotics for INFECTIONS/BACTERIA?

I dint want her to become immune?

My dd is prone to chest infections and has asthma. Her wheeze is not always audible and i have often been told she doesn't sound wheeze until they listen carefully with the stethoscope.

Your dd is so young and has bedn sick for a while I'd be giving the antibiotics at this stage.

I can't believe a doctor, or indeed anyone with common sense, would prescribe antibiotics for a viral infection.

Vicks isn't suitable for under 2s so hope it's the baby version you are using

Did the GP say something like "if it hasn't cleared by x give antibiotics as it isn't viral?"
I would ask for a phone appointment at the least to clarify.

You should give the antibiotics. I wouldn't hesitate.

Presumably you were concerned enough to take dd to the GP twice(!)? Why would you then NOT do what they told you to? Genuinely puzzled sorry.

As an aside your dd has been unwell for the best part of what - 6 or 7 weeks? GPs don't hand out antibiotics for fun you know - give her the medication.

But if the Dr prescribed ab's on the first visit, surely when you went back for the second visit he assumed you'd already given the antibiotics? So that may have led him to say it's likely viral as he thinks the medication had no effect? Or did he know you hadn't given them?
I'd call the doctor to let him know you haven't used them and ask if he would advise giving them now.

I wouldn't and would just monitor how she is closely. In my experience Drs are far too quick to give out antibiotics as a quick solution IMHO (and I don't say that lightly). I've been prescribed it twice for my DD, both times it was definitely a virus. But I felt so much guilt deciding what to do with the antibiotics!

Why go to the Dr if you aren't going to take the advice??

You've taken up 2 Dr's appointments and presumably a pharmacists time to make up the antibiotics and passed it on to the other children in nursery

Doctors don’t give out antibiotics unless they think they are needed so yes I would give them. Also don’t believe a doctor would say it was viral and then prescribe them. There but have been a good reason for the antibiotics.

I also agree with Wispy though, you should call the GP if you don't use them to talk through your decision. Or to ask for clarification which is what I wished I had done.

So you went to a doctor, didn't take their advice and now you are surprised that she is still sick. It's no mystery why you aren't a doctor yourself.

Did he really say it was viral & then prescribe abx? That doesn't make sense. If he did prescribe them, why haven't you given them to DD? They're probably out of date now so you'll need to go & get fresh Ines which will waste another appt & cost of a prescription.
Yes, there is an abx crisis looming but GPS are aware of this and won't prescribe unless they have to. The good news is that, in many cases, abx continue to be effective & we don't have to suffer for weeks at a time.

Often if these things linger, it's because a virus has then led to a secondary infection? We've been given AB before after several weeks of snot. I would definitely take them/give them to dc if they've been prescribed.

Sadly, it's very typical for GPs to prescribe antibiotics to get you out of their office and from taking up precious appt time they think is being unjustifiably taken up for a cold (sounds harsh, but it's true). There are whole initiatives in the NHS now to try to re-train them so they stop doing this, but it's the path of least resistance, rhetorically speaking (even if it's creating massive antibiotic resistance).

Mine had a chesty cough from about October until May her first winter at nursery. It's just what happens. Very likely it is just a virus that's lingering and I wouldn't give antibiotics. The only time mine truly needed them that first year it was really obvious. She got a temp, really bad chesty cough, and was listless, would just sleep on me all day and barely even wake to eat. Then she really did have a bacterial infection and the antibiotics made a massive difference. A cough with no temp and otherwise seeming fine (grumpy, but not sleeping all day) probably doesn't warrant them.

if the doctor prescribed antibiotics I would give antibiotics, the doctor knows way more than a load of randoms on MN because they have had years of medical training and have actually seen your DD

OP your DD will not become immune to antibiotics by having one dosage.

You will need to make her another appointment with your DR and tell her/him why you never followed the advice given to you previously or followed through on the antibiotics that was prescribed. And get more, and give them to DD as directed. Follow your DR’s advice in future.

Without a lot of testing, it’s actually very difficult to work out which of these infections are vital and which are bacterial. The GP has taken an educated guess that it’s viral but given you antibiotics in case your dc doesn’t get better in case it’s bacterial.
They’ve adopted a common-sense approach.
Look, young children die from infections that are overlooked - look up the case of William Mead. If he’d ben prescribed antibiotics in time by his GP he’d probably have lived.
I would give your child the antibiotics in case it’s bacterial or has Turned bacterial

*viral not vital

Of course you should give your DD the antibiotics.

I don't mean to scare you, but my DD became suddenly, very seriously ill as a toddler due to bacterial complications of a viral chesty cough. She had just started taking antibiotics and was fairly well when we put her to bed. By morning she was in intensive care in our local hospital. She recovered, but the whole incident was so traumatic that the DC slept in our room whenever they had coughs for years afterwards.

Your doctor will have prescribed antibiotics for a reason. If you don't understand the reason, it's okay to ask at the time. Please give your baby the medication.