Aiden woke up screaming and didn’t stop all day. Tylenol wasn’t much help. I took him to the doctor, and they confirmed what I suspected: a double ear infection. He has now added amoxicillin to his repertoire of meds for this illness. Back in two weeks for an ear re-check … and Micah’s one month appointment at the same time!
“When It Comes to Kids’ Ear Infections, Hold the Antibiotics” is the featured health article in Forbes this month. I first heard about this study on NPR about a month ago.
Duh – antibiotics don’t help immediate pain. While the study is something to consider, antibiotics do fight bacteria and shorten the length of suffering. My children rarely get sick – but when they do, it’s horrible. I’m all for helping them feel better as quickly as possible.
3 responses to “Aiden’s Woes”
Poor little guy! I got tons of ear infections as a child so I can sympathize with him. Hope he’s feeling better today.
The problem is, as they say in the article, that many people don’t use antibiotics correctly, and they stop giving it to their children as soon as the symptoms clear up.
This allows the minority of bacteria that are most resistant to the antibiotics to survive and propogate.
It seems that the consensus now is to not treat antibiotics as the miracle drug that have no consequences.
I do understand the point regarding misuse of antibiotics and not completing the course. The question is how long does it take an ear infection to be cured on its own vs. with the aid of an antibiotic?