Contents
Antibiotics: what fields of action?
Contrary to what one might think, antibiotics do not cure all infectious diseases: they are powerless against viruses – colds, bronchiolitis, measles, chicken pox, mumps, etc – but are very effectiveon the other handagainst bacteria (scarlet fever for example, due to the streptococcus A microbe). They eliminate bacterial infections of the lungs, ears, skin, urinary tract, throat and bones.
In fact, there is not one, but several dozen antibiotics that do not all work the same:
– Broad spectrum antibiotics, whose substance is able to fight a large number of different bacteria.
– Narrow spectrum antibiotics which, “targeted”, attack a specific bacteria. Also, never give your child an antibiotic prescribed for a previous illness. Nothing says it will fit this time around, and it could even prove to be very dangerous.
Antibiotics: the right reflexes
Only the doctor will decide on an antibiotic treatment according to the disease, judged on the symptoms, and adapted to the germs in question.
Remember that antibiotics are perfectly well targeted drugs. The period and dosage treatment should be precisely determined by your doctor.
Failure to complete antibiotic treatment may lead to relapse with more resistant germs and therefore the need to prolong the treatment. This is why it is essential to follow the medical prescription carefully.
To know : many antibiotics have not yet been studied in children. Certain drugs for adults, of which the major interest is also recognized for the youngest, can be prescribed to the small ones, under the responsibility of the doctor.
However, a form specifically designed for children ensures maximum safety and treatment in the best conditions. The antibiotic then carries a mention AMM (Marketing authorization) pediatric.
Side effects of antibiotics
Unfortunately, antibiotics sometimes cause side effects, like diarrhea most often. If you have nausea or a rash, it may be an allergy. Without stopping the treatment yourself, quickly consult the pediatrician.
Give Baby the antibiotics
How to proceed ?
– Install your baby in his deckchair, or slightly raised on his changing table.
– Slip a rolled up towel under his neck to free his chin.
Bottle and antibiotic
Warning ! You must dilute the antibiotic in a little water, and not in his bottle of milk: if he does not finish it, goodbye to the drug!
Spoon and antibiotic
One method that always works: press the spoon on its lower lip and tilt it. The antibiotic will then run on its own on his gums or between his teeth, if he has any!
For or against antibiotics?
Antibiotics: the debate
Some parents swear by antibiotics and are wary of doctors who don’t prescribe them. Others, on the contrary, no longer want to hear about it. There are even some who come back to it after having shunned them… In any case, giving or not giving medication to a child is also a dilemma for doctors.
Doctor Cohen-Solal’s opinion: a risk more global than individual
It is not without significance that thousands of tons of antibiotics are sown in nature every year. It is likely that this will change the relationship between microbes and other microorganisms. We are going to see more and more infections with fungi, viruses, for example. But it is a global risk, for an entire population. For an individual, the advantages considerably outweigh the disadvantages. Forty years ago, infants died of toxicosis, sepsis, meningitis. “
Millions of lives saved in 70 years.
The plague has disappeared in Europe, tuberculosis is now treated, acute rheumatoid arthritis has become rare.
Thanks to whom ? Guess! So a big thank you to the British doctor Sir Alexander Fleming to have discovered, in 1928, that a mold called penicillium prevented the cultures of bacteria from proliferating. The famous penicillin was born, which would become a real medicine in the 40s.
How to avoid antibiotics?
Also, if resorting to antibiotics is sometimes the only way to treat Baby, these few steps can help you use them as little as possible:
– To strengthen its immune defenses, give him some iron.
– Ask immunostimulant therapy to your pediatrician.
– Think about trace elements, based on manganese and copper.
– Why not try homeopathy ?
— Hunt for allergens : feathers and dust irritate the respiratory tract and therefore make them more susceptible to infections.
— Avoid pollution… and the first is of course cigarette parents !
– Do not forget vitamin D, which replaces the sun, which is so lacking in winter.
— Check that Baby’s vaccinations are up to date.