Imagine your child coughing non-stop and just feeling plain sick. When you bring them to the doctor, all you may want is to ensure they are given powerful child flu medicine to make the child’s cough go away. Not long ago, many doctors used to hand out antibiotic prescriptions for the common cold frequently. However, does your child really need kid’s antibiotics? If not, why are they prescribed sometimes? Maybe antibiotic medicine for kids is necessary in certain cases.
The Dangers of Antibiotic Medicine for Kids
Conventional wisdom has changed. Doctors like Dr. Ana Puga will not hand out antibiotic prescriptions as easily as they used to, especially for things like the common cold. Doing so is now known to pose a real danger to the patient. Therefore, instead of helping your child get well, giving them antibiotics as part of pediatric care where they are not needed can harm them and the entire human race.
Due to the excessive use of antibiotic medicine for kids in pediatric care, many types of antibiotic-resistant bacteria are emerging. The bacteria will go on to cause infections that are very difficult to manage. In fact, other strains of bacteria are now known to be resistant to almost every antibiotic available.
Research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control shows that more than 50% of the antibiotic prescriptions written by doctors are not necessary. Therefore, they are now encouraging doctors to revisit their prescribing habits.
Also, the CDC is urging the public to understand that not all situations require kids’ antibiotics. This is the case with the common cold. Unless there is evidence that the child has bacteria-related complications, antibiotics for kids will not work. Dr. Ana Puga suggests that these drugs are only effective when used to fight bacterial infections. Here’s why:
Antibiotics for Kids to Fight Bacteria, Not Viruses
If your child is suffering from a disease caused by bacteria, antibiotics should be used to fight infection. However, if your child is suffering from a viral disease, antibiotics will be of no use. This means giving them as part of pediatric care will not make your child better in any way.
A virus causes the common cold. In fact, most chest colds are caused by viruses. This means that antibiotics for kids will not improve the situation if they are given to a child who is suffering from the common cold. Most parents will reference the color of their child’s mucus to suggest that the child has a bacterial infection. However, that is not true. The color of a child’s mucus is not indicative of bacterial infections. Therefore, you must stop wishing your child would get an antibiotic for kids just because they have mucus with a suspicious color.
What Is a Cold?
There are more than 200 viruses that cause the common cold. However, the most common virus that is known to cause this illness is the rhinovirus. Colds are not dangerous to most children. They are only a real threat in newborns or in immunocompromised children. If your child is healthy, the common cold shouldn’t be a problem that causes panic. In fact, colds will go away on their own without treatment in about 4 to 10 days. If not, there are other options when it comes to children’s cold medicine. This is to manage pain and make your child more comfortable.
What to Expect When Your Child Gets a Cold
The moment your child gets a cold, they will have a general feeling of not being well. After that, they might also start complaining about a sore throat. You will also notice a runny nose or child cough as the cold progresses. In the initial stages of the cold, the sore throat will be due to mucus. As the condition worsens, the child might start experiencing the following:
- Sneezing and child cough
- Watery mucus
- Watery or crusty eyes
- Feeling tired
- Fever
- Sore throat
- Lack of appetite
The common cold will also affect your child’s sinuses and sometimes ears. In some instances, the child will also have diarrhea and vomiting. Before all the other signs show up, usually, the child will become irritable and complain of a headache. After a few hours, mucus coming out of their nose might become thicker. This should alert you that the child is suffering from a cold. If you notice that, contact Dr. Ana Puga to find out about the best children’s cold medicine.
When Might You Need Child Antibiotics?
Viruses cause common colds. Unless a bacterial infection complicates the condition, there will be no need to employ child antibiotics. Your doctor could prescribe other types of children’s cold medicine that are not child antibiotics.
Some infants will get a bacterial infection because of a common cold. When the child has both a cold and an infection, the doctor will be justified in prescribing an antibiotic.
Apart from that, you will find that some bacteria might also cause sinus infections when a child has a common cold. Fortunately, if the child is healthy, these infections should clear up independently without the use of antibiotics as child flu medicine.
Apart from these infections, bacteria cause some sore throats. For instance, strep throat is a bacterial infection. It also has symptoms that are similar to a common cold. Your child will have a fever, redness, and trouble swallowing. Your doctor will most likely carry out a strep test after noticing these signs. If the test indicates that there is a bacterial infection, your child’s doctor will prescribe antibiotics.
Here are some cases where your child will need antibiotics:
- The child coughs non-stop for more than two weeks.
- Signs of a sinus infection that doesn’t get better in more than ten days. Sometimes the sinus infection can go away and then come back again.
- When a child has a nasal discharge and fever of 102° F continuously.
- A nasal discharge combined with a headache that is not going away on its own.
You must note, however, that if your child is less than three months of age, it is recommended to contact your pediatrician if you notice a fever exceeding 100.4° F. Young infants are more prone to bacterial infections; hence you need to act quickly if you suspect something might be wrong. In such cases, an antibiotic for kids will be warranted.
Risks of an Antibiotic for Kids
A common reason why children end up in the emergency room is antibiotics for kids. These drugs have several side effects, including diarrhea or vomiting. Apart from that, about five in every 100 children are allergic to antibiotics. The overuse and unwarranted use of antibiotics encourages bacteria to transform. With time, these antibiotics used as child flu medicine will become ineffective, making bacterial diseases more difficult to manage.
What do you think about the use of antibiotics to treat the common cold? Has your doctor ever prescribed antibiotics for the common cold? If you still have questions regarding antibiotics in children with the common cold, please contact us. Also, if your child is suffering from the common cold and you are worried, schedule an appointment with us today. We have helped many children with the common cold, and you can trust that your child’s health will be safe with us.
