Antibiotics - not too often, not too quickly
CopyPublishAntibiotics can be great medicines, no question about it. But I maintain that they are still prescribed far too often and far too quickly. Here's some basic information to help you get a feel for when it's necessary.
It happens again and again: The child has a fever, a cough, a cold - and the parents ask for an antibiotic. They are worried about their child and believe that only the "right" medication will really help them. But this is not the case.
The first and most important point: antibiotics help with illnesses caused by bacteria. Antibiotic treatment is useless for viral infections. And over 90 per cent of common coughs and colds in autumn and winter are viral.
Even in the case of bacterial infections, it may well be appropriate not to treat them with antibiotics straight away. Is the child's general condition good and stable so far? Then you can be confident that it will beat the infection itself. A typical example: angina (tonsillitis) used to be treated with antibiotics, but today we know that this is not necessary - if the child's condition allows it.
Of course, there are also illnesses where antibiotics are absolutely necessary - and I maintain that you can usually see this when you look at the child. If he is obviously very unwell, it is more likely that stronger antibiotic therapy is necessary.
My appeal: Have the courage to ask the doctor what speaks in favour of antibiotic therapy and what speaks in favour of waiting. A wonderful method is "wait and watch". In other words, wait and watch. This involves giving the parents an antibiotic prescription, which they do not use immediately, but keep in the back of their mind in case the child's condition worsens.
Of course, it is important to explain to the parents how they can recognise any deterioration. But that's not a problem. And experience shows: With the feeling that they can react if the worst comes to the worst, parents often feel so confident that antibiotic treatment can be bypassed.
Once again - I can't repeat this often enough: The most important question is always how the child is doing. Is it drinking? Is it agile? Then antibiotics are not needed for many illnesses - at least not as often and as quickly as is still sometimes the case.
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