5 Things You Need to Know About Antibiotics and Children

1. Think Pink

The key to effective antibiotic treatment is to use the weakest antibiotic that does the job for the prescribed time. For millions of kids, this means amoxicillin, better known as "the pink stuff." Amoxicillin is one of the penicillin drugs developed in the 20th century. Penicillin came a few years after the development of sulfa drugs, making up the two classifications of antibiotics. Before antibiotics, children suffered severe complications from routine childhood ailments. Ear infections sometimes led to meningitis; strep throat to rheumatic fever. And many died from pneumonia. Today, doctors can choose from at least 60 kinds of antibiotics.

2. For Bacterial Infections Only

Children, particularly younger children, get sick a lot. It may seem like your child has the sniffles throughout most of the year. As frustrating as it is to watch your child struggle with congestion and coughing, treating with antibiotics isn't always the right choice. Viruses cause some of the illnesses you see. Although you may want to help your child get well, antibiotics do no good against viral infections. Antibiotics do their job on bacterial infections. Bacterial infections like strep throat and ear infections involve actual bacteria for the antibiotic to combat. So, say yes to antibiotics for bacteria, and no for viruses.

3. Too Much of a Good Thing

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimate that half of the 110 million courses of antibiotics prescribed annually aren't necessary. Excessive and inappropriate antibiotic use has led to antibiotic resistance. Super bacteria easily resist the first line of defense from antibiotics like amoxicillin. The answer is new, stronger antibiotics. Not only are these newer antibiotics more expensive, but they can also lead to more side effects. When oral antibiotics fail to do the job, serious infections mean a hospital admission with IV antibiotics.

4. Kills the Good and the Bad

Antibiotics work by attaching to some part of the bacteria and destroying it. Unfortunately, antibiotics aren't smart enough to destroy only the bad bacteria. Sometimes, antibiotics destroy the good bacteria too. Bodies need good bacteria to aid in digestion. When children don't have enough good bacteria, they develop stomach problems, which can include diarrhea. Untreated diarrhea leads to dehydration, very dangerous for anyone, but particularly children who dehydrate faster. Feed yogurt to children on antibiotics. Yogurt features the good bacteria that bodies need.

5. Watch for Allergic Reactions

Millions of people develop an allergy to either sulfa or penicillin drugs. Sometimes children develop a secondary infection to penicillin. Perhaps they took amoxicillin once without problems, but the second time leads to a rash and/or swelling. Stop the antibiotic, and call your doctor immediately, who will probably treat the reaction with steroids. More serious reactions that affect breathing require a trip to the emergency room. Once a child develops a reaction to an antibiotic, he should never be prescribed any antibiotic from that classification. An allergy to Bactrim means an allergy to all sulfa drugs. An allergy to amoxicillin means an allergy to all penicillin drugs.