S had her first ear infection this time last year, she had a course of antibiotics for 10 days (she had no symptoms so I had no idea she had the infection), when the pus was leaking out her ears I took her to the doctors and she got 10 days worth of anti-bs. Since then she hasn't been ill so her immune system has been just fine. If you are breastfeeding then your immunity is being passed through to the baby still.
I would rather give the anti-bs than let them suffer with the pain of an ear infection. I didn't even question it, I just wanted her better in the quickest way possible. Apart from a bit of snot this year she hasn't been ill since then. Just give a few extra BFs and some extra veggies for more nutrients whilst he is taking the anti-bs.
Hannah
When baby has fever
We had to deal with ear infections and I remember thinking about whether to give the antibiotics or not. My SIL kept telling me not to give the antibiotic as she wouldn't give it, because doctors tend to prescribe antibiotics even when they are not necessarily needed (her words, not mine). Anyway, after a lot of deliberation I still gave N the antibiotics because
a. I'm not a doctor
and
b. I trust our daughter's ear doctor ... after we found out she had an ear infection we took her to an ENT specialist. And I trust he has the qualifications needed to make a sound decision on what needs to be done. (If I didn't trust him, then I would ask for a second opinion.. take her to another doctor)
I don't know if the fact that we gave her antibiotics made her more prone to the recurrent ear infections, and subsequently the operation where the tubes were inserted. One person suggested that her intake of milk and dairy products was responsible. I don't know about that.
I do know that all in all she had 2 rounds of ear infections: 1st round: a 3 day dose of amoxin (helped and she got better), 2nd one a 3 day dose of amoxin (didn't help), 1 week dose of amoxin (still didn't help) and finally a 3 day dose of zithromax (still didn't help) and then she got the tubes. She's not had any problems with her ears at all since then.
I think the worry is that antibiotics are prescribed when they are not really needed, but I didn't feel at any time N was given antibiotics unnecessarily. She got great care and I was really grateful.
I hope D recovers soon from his ear infection and I wish you all the best, I know what a pain ear infections can be for the whole family.
a. I'm not a doctor
and
b. I trust our daughter's ear doctor ... after we found out she had an ear infection we took her to an ENT specialist. And I trust he has the qualifications needed to make a sound decision on what needs to be done. (If I didn't trust him, then I would ask for a second opinion.. take her to another doctor)
I don't know if the fact that we gave her antibiotics made her more prone to the recurrent ear infections, and subsequently the operation where the tubes were inserted. One person suggested that her intake of milk and dairy products was responsible. I don't know about that.
I do know that all in all she had 2 rounds of ear infections: 1st round: a 3 day dose of amoxin (helped and she got better), 2nd one a 3 day dose of amoxin (didn't help), 1 week dose of amoxin (still didn't help) and finally a 3 day dose of zithromax (still didn't help) and then she got the tubes. She's not had any problems with her ears at all since then.
I think the worry is that antibiotics are prescribed when they are not really needed, but I didn't feel at any time N was given antibiotics unnecessarily. She got great care and I was really grateful.
I hope D recovers soon from his ear infection and I wish you all the best, I know what a pain ear infections can be for the whole family.
saving chimpanzees is a big hairy deal
It might ease the pain if you raise his bed as high as you can so it's like he's almost sleeping in an upright position. They says it hurts less and it certainly worked for us. And if you do decided to go ahead with the antibiotics the rela drops are really good for settling the stomach.
saving chimpanzees is a big hairy deal
Thanks for doctagon and a bit of info on antiobiotics
Thank you for the Doctagon information. We used their services yesterday and had a brilliant! doctor coming home to look at our daughter who has had a high fever for a couple of days.
He told us that Kela pays a fair bit of their service (almost half during late hours and weekends) and with a private health insurance you can often cover the rest. Our insurance does. It was so much nicer to get a doctor home and he did take his time to check and explain things to us.
I also raised the issue of ear & throat infections and antibiotics to him. This because he gave us a prescription just in case our daughter develops a bacterial infection later. The sign would be sometimes just continuous low fever (arnd 37.5 or so) that does not go down and keeps on for about 5 days. His point was that if a baby does develop an ear infection then in half of the cases there is a recovery without the antibiotic and there is no problem. However, the other half of the cases is left with some permanent damage to the ear ... hearing problems etc. This is apparantly why there is a policy in this country that they just give antibiotics to all cases so that any more serious damage is prevented.
This of course is a double ended sword in that if you do give antibiotics you do destroy a lot of the gut immunity for years to come and then the child is predisposed to further infections - and more antibiotics. If not then there are other serious risks that should not be ignored.
I have taken the attitude now that I will do everything to boost our child's immunity (and this is a lot of work but it all depends whether one does have the time or not) and try to avoid antibiotics as much as possible. Good immune boosting diet and long recovery time. But I did also decide to stick to this 5 day policy in that if her immune system cannot shake the disease in this time I will give her the medication as adviced ... and after that try to get her back in good health to be able to fight the next bug without them. I know from personal experiences that one can avoid antibiotics to quite a large extent in these cold/flu cases and in that way be in much better health (have not had a course for abt 10 years and used to have 2 or 3 per year) but it does require a bit of work and lifestyle changes - and there are always cases when you just cannot avoid them! The point is that if you do all you can to avoid them then they do actually work when you need them!
Marianne
He told us that Kela pays a fair bit of their service (almost half during late hours and weekends) and with a private health insurance you can often cover the rest. Our insurance does. It was so much nicer to get a doctor home and he did take his time to check and explain things to us.
I also raised the issue of ear & throat infections and antibiotics to him. This because he gave us a prescription just in case our daughter develops a bacterial infection later. The sign would be sometimes just continuous low fever (arnd 37.5 or so) that does not go down and keeps on for about 5 days. His point was that if a baby does develop an ear infection then in half of the cases there is a recovery without the antibiotic and there is no problem. However, the other half of the cases is left with some permanent damage to the ear ... hearing problems etc. This is apparantly why there is a policy in this country that they just give antibiotics to all cases so that any more serious damage is prevented.
This of course is a double ended sword in that if you do give antibiotics you do destroy a lot of the gut immunity for years to come and then the child is predisposed to further infections - and more antibiotics. If not then there are other serious risks that should not be ignored.
I have taken the attitude now that I will do everything to boost our child's immunity (and this is a lot of work but it all depends whether one does have the time or not) and try to avoid antibiotics as much as possible. Good immune boosting diet and long recovery time. But I did also decide to stick to this 5 day policy in that if her immune system cannot shake the disease in this time I will give her the medication as adviced ... and after that try to get her back in good health to be able to fight the next bug without them. I know from personal experiences that one can avoid antibiotics to quite a large extent in these cold/flu cases and in that way be in much better health (have not had a course for abt 10 years and used to have 2 or 3 per year) but it does require a bit of work and lifestyle changes - and there are always cases when you just cannot avoid them! The point is that if you do all you can to avoid them then they do actually work when you need them!
Marianne
Milk and dairy are often accused in these cases but there is not enough evidence to say it for sure.
However, and interestingly enough, there is a young Finnish professor who just received an award of her study with diabetes type 1. She has studied the proteins of dairy milk that are part of a baby's diet and according to her research can actually increase the immune response that leads to diabetes. She has studied specifically cow's milk and shown that the insulin in cow's milk causes antibodies attached to insulin to appear in the child's blood. This is again related to gut immunity so there is a lot of new information started to come out and I am quite sure that at some point in the future when they put together cow's milk, antibiotics, our diets and processed foods nowadays, formulas .... we will know a lot more and this will explain also a lot of allergies.
The problem is this research has just started and kind of argues against current policies. This causes the problem that firstly there is not conclusive evidence yet so further studies are needed and secondly any national health institution faces problems when current policies need to be changed. In Finland they are lacking behind and having a problem when it comes to recommendations of fats ... they need to change their recommendations but how to do it when they have been implementing policies of low fat foods for so long ...
And to top all of this off - one can only do things based on current knowledge and gut (hah) instinct and go with that!
M
However, and interestingly enough, there is a young Finnish professor who just received an award of her study with diabetes type 1. She has studied the proteins of dairy milk that are part of a baby's diet and according to her research can actually increase the immune response that leads to diabetes. She has studied specifically cow's milk and shown that the insulin in cow's milk causes antibodies attached to insulin to appear in the child's blood. This is again related to gut immunity so there is a lot of new information started to come out and I am quite sure that at some point in the future when they put together cow's milk, antibiotics, our diets and processed foods nowadays, formulas .... we will know a lot more and this will explain also a lot of allergies.
The problem is this research has just started and kind of argues against current policies. This causes the problem that firstly there is not conclusive evidence yet so further studies are needed and secondly any national health institution faces problems when current policies need to be changed. In Finland they are lacking behind and having a problem when it comes to recommendations of fats ... they need to change their recommendations but how to do it when they have been implementing policies of low fat foods for so long ...
And to top all of this off - one can only do things based on current knowledge and gut (hah) instinct and go with that!
M
Plus some kids are in great pain, and nobody can watch it waiting for a natural recovery. I was little in times when penicillin was the only antibiotics, and there was a shortage of even that in Finland. I must have been around three when I had ear infection at the same time my two cousins had it. The pain was excruciating, that was the first time in my life when I have hallucinated: I was in a cement grinder slowly becoming a red mass. (there was this turning cement mill on the yard)the other half of the cases is left with some permanent damage to the ear ... hearing problems etc. This is apparantly why there is a policy in this country that they just give antibiotics to all cases so that any more serious damage is prevented.
Anyway, I recovered naturally and the only damage was psychological: I was too small to understand the pain. But my counsins didn´t. One became death from the other ear, and the other one became complitely death.
I cannot understand antibiotics seen as something to avoid. Sure, nobody should take them for flu/common cold. Flu and common cold are not infections, antibiotics would not even heal them. Plus there are nowadays so many types of antibiotics that if some loses its effectiveness, there most likely will be another one to take its place. I mean, how often in their lives people have infections that need antibiotics? As adults, not very often. As kids, a lot more often.
Penicillin used to be THE antibiotic also when my son had all his 10+ ear infections before the age of three. His 11th infection was throat as a teenager. At that age he had often throat and cheek cavities infections, all treated with antibiotics. But not penicillin: The result of his multiple penicilin cures as an infant had made him allergic to it. But there were many alternatives. Now he is an adult, and as an adult I don´t remmember him being sick ever.
Hi,
The reason to avoid antibiotics is purely because they have been used too much for things they should have not been used for. That is why they have the new policies now and it is harder to get them. In the past you could have a course of antibiotics just by sneezing a bit (at least in the UK and in Finland) but now this is not the case anymore. At least not to my knowledge.
The problem is that antibiotics loose use efficiency when used too much and that is why there is a global problem in that antibiotics do not work the way they should anymore. That is why we have a lot of "superbugs" that actually kill and antibiotics do not work for them anymore. So yes perhaps we can create more antibiotics but we are kind of reaching the limit pretty soon ... and there are still a lot of people who try to use them just for common colds (for example my step-sister!).
The other reason is because we have started to see the damage they cause to the gut - the major immune organ of the body, and places in the body with mucosal lining - such as the nose. They cause problems to the ecology of the "good bacteria" causing problems for years to come.
Hence what has happened the past years is that doctors do not give antibiotics often before checking that there is a real reason for it - which should have been done in the past but it was not. As for an ear infection with fever and pain there is a very justified reason to give antibiotic!!!! In the case of my daughter, there is no pain, she is happy but she had a high fever indicating a viral disease. This can turn into a bacterial infection in which case we have the option of taking the antibiotic or not. Should she be horrifically ill or in pain I would of course give it. Should she still have low fever, but she would not be in pain, I would in this case also give it as for me this would indicate that her body, for one reason or the other, has not been able to fight the disease and I would not let her suffer. I think our doctor's advice was very sensible and correct and I go now with his recommendations.
The point I was trying to make was there are certain measures one can take, given the time, to avoid problems with infections to some extent - but only! to some extent. All measures failing antibiotics are needed - as said - it is a wonderful, wonderful invention that has saved God knows how many lives in the course of history. But as so many other inventions given to humans it has also been used carelessly and this has caused some problems.
One reason I made that comment about the ear infection and antibiotics was because there was someone on the forum who was considering not giving antibiotics to her child and waiting for an ear infection to clear out IF her child does not seem to be troubled by the condition. I wrote the comment of my doctor as he explained the reason why not wait for an infection to clear out by itself and the signs to look out for - such as low consistent fever - when one should start giving the antibiotic. I also wanted to point out that letting the infection clear by itself, if it is a bacterial infection, does have its consequences (such as hearing problems) so one should carefully consider if one wants to take the risk. A risk that I would personally not take. There is also a further point in that some children have smaller ear passages than others and are more prone to infection and damage and there is not much more that you can do except use antibiotics and perhaps end up tubing the ears ... it was really just raising up the different points of view also including the reasoning behind why not always use antibiotics. In a case of a child's bacterial illness I would of course use them - but as an adult myself I try not to immediately depending where the infection is.
This reminds me ... there was an interview of a couple of doctors and a microbiologist some years ago on the television ... they were all convinced that at the end of the day our biggest enemies are the smallest living things on this planet, the viruses and bacteria, and our life here is a constant battle with them.
M
The reason to avoid antibiotics is purely because they have been used too much for things they should have not been used for. That is why they have the new policies now and it is harder to get them. In the past you could have a course of antibiotics just by sneezing a bit (at least in the UK and in Finland) but now this is not the case anymore. At least not to my knowledge.
The problem is that antibiotics loose use efficiency when used too much and that is why there is a global problem in that antibiotics do not work the way they should anymore. That is why we have a lot of "superbugs" that actually kill and antibiotics do not work for them anymore. So yes perhaps we can create more antibiotics but we are kind of reaching the limit pretty soon ... and there are still a lot of people who try to use them just for common colds (for example my step-sister!).
The other reason is because we have started to see the damage they cause to the gut - the major immune organ of the body, and places in the body with mucosal lining - such as the nose. They cause problems to the ecology of the "good bacteria" causing problems for years to come.
Hence what has happened the past years is that doctors do not give antibiotics often before checking that there is a real reason for it - which should have been done in the past but it was not. As for an ear infection with fever and pain there is a very justified reason to give antibiotic!!!! In the case of my daughter, there is no pain, she is happy but she had a high fever indicating a viral disease. This can turn into a bacterial infection in which case we have the option of taking the antibiotic or not. Should she be horrifically ill or in pain I would of course give it. Should she still have low fever, but she would not be in pain, I would in this case also give it as for me this would indicate that her body, for one reason or the other, has not been able to fight the disease and I would not let her suffer. I think our doctor's advice was very sensible and correct and I go now with his recommendations.
The point I was trying to make was there are certain measures one can take, given the time, to avoid problems with infections to some extent - but only! to some extent. All measures failing antibiotics are needed - as said - it is a wonderful, wonderful invention that has saved God knows how many lives in the course of history. But as so many other inventions given to humans it has also been used carelessly and this has caused some problems.
One reason I made that comment about the ear infection and antibiotics was because there was someone on the forum who was considering not giving antibiotics to her child and waiting for an ear infection to clear out IF her child does not seem to be troubled by the condition. I wrote the comment of my doctor as he explained the reason why not wait for an infection to clear out by itself and the signs to look out for - such as low consistent fever - when one should start giving the antibiotic. I also wanted to point out that letting the infection clear by itself, if it is a bacterial infection, does have its consequences (such as hearing problems) so one should carefully consider if one wants to take the risk. A risk that I would personally not take. There is also a further point in that some children have smaller ear passages than others and are more prone to infection and damage and there is not much more that you can do except use antibiotics and perhaps end up tubing the ears ... it was really just raising up the different points of view also including the reasoning behind why not always use antibiotics. In a case of a child's bacterial illness I would of course use them - but as an adult myself I try not to immediately depending where the infection is.
This reminds me ... there was an interview of a couple of doctors and a microbiologist some years ago on the television ... they were all convinced that at the end of the day our biggest enemies are the smallest living things on this planet, the viruses and bacteria, and our life here is a constant battle with them.
M
My understanding is that an antibiotic is useful in fighting bacterial infection not viral infection. So if your baby has a fever and pain, if a virus is the cause of this an antibiotic will not help. If on the other hand a bacterial infection is the cause, then an antibiotic would help.
Also sometimes after a viral infection such as the flu, bacterial infection may occur. For instance our doc explained it, during a flu fluid may accumulate in the ear and when it doesn't drain out properly, as does happen often in children, it provides an environment favorable to bacterial growth, which lead to further infection, hence they prescribe antibiotics.
Also the ineffectiveness of antibiotics is not so much to do with the number of them on the market, but more so to do with their misuse, i.e. doctor prescribes you a 7 day dose of antibiotic to fight bacterial infection. You start the dose but by day 3 you feel better and because you don't want to 'overmedicate' yourself you stop taking the medication. That's how you get resistant strains of bacteria and the need to develop new antibiotics and after taking dose after dose after dose we complain that the doctor didn't know what s/he was doing presecribing you unnecessary medication etc.
Shazzer, how's D doing now? Any better?
Also sometimes after a viral infection such as the flu, bacterial infection may occur. For instance our doc explained it, during a flu fluid may accumulate in the ear and when it doesn't drain out properly, as does happen often in children, it provides an environment favorable to bacterial growth, which lead to further infection, hence they prescribe antibiotics.
Also the ineffectiveness of antibiotics is not so much to do with the number of them on the market, but more so to do with their misuse, i.e. doctor prescribes you a 7 day dose of antibiotic to fight bacterial infection. You start the dose but by day 3 you feel better and because you don't want to 'overmedicate' yourself you stop taking the medication. That's how you get resistant strains of bacteria and the need to develop new antibiotics and after taking dose after dose after dose we complain that the doctor didn't know what s/he was doing presecribing you unnecessary medication etc.
Shazzer, how's D doing now? Any better?
saving chimpanzees is a big hairy deal
RA - you are right - antibiotics do not work for viruses at all and that sometimes after a viral infection bacterial infection may occur. Our doctor told us that one symptom then is this constant low fever.
As your doctor explain the flu fuild may accumulate in the ear and cause problems. The problem is then resolved with the antibiotic but not without a cost because then the mucosal linings of the body are also influenced by the antibiotic making them more susceptible for the next bug. The resistance has gone down when the ecology of the linings have been affected and this because as the antibiotics kills the bad bugs it also kills many of the protective ones ... which is why they recommend acidophilus, bifilus etc to get the balance back asap. However, it was previously thought that the balancing takes only a year or so but now we are talking about years! But ... I do not think there is a way around this for the human race in that okey ... we have vaccinations and this prevents a lot of deadly disease but then again this combined with a more clinical environment makes the immune system attack something else ... such as not dangerous things such as pollen, animals etc. We need antibiotics to combat disease but then there is a price for that too. It seems to be the nature of life!
And yes again you are right in that a lot of the problems are caused by improper use of the drug but also the past overprescription. The bacteria, even if you use the whole course, will eventually become resistant to the drug. They are clever buggers. But not as clever as the viruses, such as HIV, which mutates at a speed that is just amazing. However fast new drugs are developed the virus is faster ...
As your doctor explain the flu fuild may accumulate in the ear and cause problems. The problem is then resolved with the antibiotic but not without a cost because then the mucosal linings of the body are also influenced by the antibiotic making them more susceptible for the next bug. The resistance has gone down when the ecology of the linings have been affected and this because as the antibiotics kills the bad bugs it also kills many of the protective ones ... which is why they recommend acidophilus, bifilus etc to get the balance back asap. However, it was previously thought that the balancing takes only a year or so but now we are talking about years! But ... I do not think there is a way around this for the human race in that okey ... we have vaccinations and this prevents a lot of deadly disease but then again this combined with a more clinical environment makes the immune system attack something else ... such as not dangerous things such as pollen, animals etc. We need antibiotics to combat disease but then there is a price for that too. It seems to be the nature of life!
And yes again you are right in that a lot of the problems are caused by improper use of the drug but also the past overprescription. The bacteria, even if you use the whole course, will eventually become resistant to the drug. They are clever buggers. But not as clever as the viruses, such as HIV, which mutates at a speed that is just amazing. However fast new drugs are developed the virus is faster ...
Some related links on ear infections and guidelines on the use of antibiotics in cases of Acute Otitis Media (AOM) by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/aomqa.htm
http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/baby/b ... /2010.html
http://www.aap.org/healthtopics/earinfections.cfm
Additional info including how to prevent ear infections etc in babies.
http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/baby/b ... ns/83.html
http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/aomqa.htm
http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/baby/b ... /2010.html
http://www.aap.org/healthtopics/earinfections.cfm
Additional info including how to prevent ear infections etc in babies.
http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/baby/b ... ns/83.html
I read this thread and wonder...
What will the babies doctor say..... if the childs ear infection become so bad that it has to be taken into hospital and the doctor asks..
"How many of the antibiotics that I prescribed has the child taken.?
Mothers response..
"none ..my friend, whose dad was a doctor, and also those on the Finland Forum advised that antibiotics are not neccesary and are in fact not a good idea!"
I am glad my mother did not have access to the www
she would have been the same if not worst than any of you..
What will the babies doctor say..... if the childs ear infection become so bad that it has to be taken into hospital and the doctor asks..
"How many of the antibiotics that I prescribed has the child taken.?
Mothers response..
"none ..my friend, whose dad was a doctor, and also those on the Finland Forum advised that antibiotics are not neccesary and are in fact not a good idea!"
I am glad my mother did not have access to the www
she would have been the same if not worst than any of you..
People do not become more irritable as they grow old - they simply stop making the effort to avoid annoying others.
Hmm,
I wonder if you did read the comments at all. Just like with anything else, the writer or the doctor is not responsible for the interpretation of the reader or the hearer if they have done their best to convey the message. I am referring to your sentence: "none ..my friend, whose dad was a doctor, and also those on the Finland Forum advised that antibiotics are not neccesary and are in fact not a good idea!" as well as "I am glad my mother did not have access to the www
she would have been the same if not worst than any of you.. "
I would also like to point out that for example Hannah's message gives a very positive view with her experience on using antibiotics for her child who has been healthy since! I do not think anyone here wrote that one should not give antibiotics to a child in distress, pain or in a serious infection ... this was really not my intention either and even after reading my messages again I could not get this idea from them. On contrary I even noted that I would use the medication on my child as our doctor adviced!
Further I would say that if I talk of my own field I give information as unbiased as possible according to the knowledge and understanding that I have. And I am very careful with this. I gave my part of the information as a scientist and specialist on nutrition and immunology. However, I did not give any information related to medicine that I feel not confident giving as in these cases, and when it comes to the medication of my child, I trust my doctor and my discussions with him!
I doubt anyone who has any sense would not give antibiotics to a child who is in pain, has a a serious bacterial infection etc based on these messages. And I would assume people are sensible enough to go to a doctor before their child is too sick and consult with their doctor before making any decisions - or making decisions based on someone they do not know on this forum.
The WWW is free for everyone and the information in it is as wild as is the web. This requires the users of the web to consider what information is valid and what is not.
And I think I shall leave this topic at this but say once more that I did not say that antibiotics should not be used especially in case of a child with a serious bacterial infection.
G'bye and G'nite!
M
I wonder if you did read the comments at all. Just like with anything else, the writer or the doctor is not responsible for the interpretation of the reader or the hearer if they have done their best to convey the message. I am referring to your sentence: "none ..my friend, whose dad was a doctor, and also those on the Finland Forum advised that antibiotics are not neccesary and are in fact not a good idea!" as well as "I am glad my mother did not have access to the www
she would have been the same if not worst than any of you.. "
I would also like to point out that for example Hannah's message gives a very positive view with her experience on using antibiotics for her child who has been healthy since! I do not think anyone here wrote that one should not give antibiotics to a child in distress, pain or in a serious infection ... this was really not my intention either and even after reading my messages again I could not get this idea from them. On contrary I even noted that I would use the medication on my child as our doctor adviced!
Further I would say that if I talk of my own field I give information as unbiased as possible according to the knowledge and understanding that I have. And I am very careful with this. I gave my part of the information as a scientist and specialist on nutrition and immunology. However, I did not give any information related to medicine that I feel not confident giving as in these cases, and when it comes to the medication of my child, I trust my doctor and my discussions with him!
I doubt anyone who has any sense would not give antibiotics to a child who is in pain, has a a serious bacterial infection etc based on these messages. And I would assume people are sensible enough to go to a doctor before their child is too sick and consult with their doctor before making any decisions - or making decisions based on someone they do not know on this forum.
The WWW is free for everyone and the information in it is as wild as is the web. This requires the users of the web to consider what information is valid and what is not.
And I think I shall leave this topic at this but say once more that I did not say that antibiotics should not be used especially in case of a child with a serious bacterial infection.
G'bye and G'nite!
M
Please let me make it clear that no one here is at any time advocating self-medicating one's child or going against doctor's advice.
There is a big difference between discussing the various options available in a given situation and taking matters into one's own hand without medical consultation or guidance from professionals.
I think the discussion and feedback from forum members have been reasonable, common-sensical and at all times been in favour of adhering to doctor's advice and prescription. Most of all the guiding principle has ALWAYS been in the best interest of the child and to minimise pain and discomfort and also promoting good health as top priority. No question about that at all.
There has been much advancement, development and new guidelines in the area of health care for babies and children in the last 10-20 years. How the medical profession or layman approached a health issue then and now have also changed with new findings emerging all the time.
Today's mothers have the advantage of having access to more information and knowledge pertaining to their child's well-being (whether for good or for ill). Armed with this knowledge, they are in a better position to discuss the options available with the child's health care provider - and this is a good thing in my opinion.
So, let me make it clear one more time that any material, links, information and discussion in this thread SHOULD NOT replace seeking medical advice or in anyway be taken in place of any medical prescription authorised by trained professionals.
There is a big difference between discussing the various options available in a given situation and taking matters into one's own hand without medical consultation or guidance from professionals.
I think the discussion and feedback from forum members have been reasonable, common-sensical and at all times been in favour of adhering to doctor's advice and prescription. Most of all the guiding principle has ALWAYS been in the best interest of the child and to minimise pain and discomfort and also promoting good health as top priority. No question about that at all.
There has been much advancement, development and new guidelines in the area of health care for babies and children in the last 10-20 years. How the medical profession or layman approached a health issue then and now have also changed with new findings emerging all the time.
Today's mothers have the advantage of having access to more information and knowledge pertaining to their child's well-being (whether for good or for ill). Armed with this knowledge, they are in a better position to discuss the options available with the child's health care provider - and this is a good thing in my opinion.
So, let me make it clear one more time that any material, links, information and discussion in this thread SHOULD NOT replace seeking medical advice or in anyway be taken in place of any medical prescription authorised by trained professionals.
First of all, thank you everyone for your kind inquiries and get well wishes for our little boy who turns ONE today! 
You'd all be happy to know that he's much better and is his usual happy self. But the BEST birthday present has to be from our doctor's visit this morning. We had a follow-up ear checkup with the doctor and good news - his ear infection has improved and now we wait for the fluids to clear up by itself naturally
And all this with no antibiotics either! (now, before anyone starts to freak out and start hurling personal insults), do read on.
Amazingly after the first visit to the doctor's last week, our little one's condition took a turn for the better immediately the next day. His fever disappeared, no more diarhoea, he slept soundly the whole night through, great appetite and was so full of energy he didn't look like the same little boy the day before.
We called up the doctor and informed her of the current situation and said we would like to keep him off the antibiotics for now and monitor him closely for the next 48-72 hours to see if his condition improves. If not only then we would start him on the course of antibiotics. Doctor was supportive of this option since baby did NOT have acute ear infection to begin with and was in no pain. Plus, all the signs were good.
So, after a long week of waiting and monitoring the situation, it's a great relief to get the good news from the doctor today. The doctor informed us that in Finland, apart from prescribing antibiotics, the practice also includes the wait and see approach in cases of ear infections. However, she said that in most cases, antibiotics are prescribed as a safety net precaution.
Doc did give the impression that mostly antibiotics are prescribed and the wait and see approach is upon request from the parents. Then the doctor will see if the baby is a good candidate for close monitoring in such cases. However, we were even commended on being critical towards the overusage of antibiotics for babies. We were also fortunate that in our case the ear infection cleared up naturally without any complications.
Thank you everyone for this discussion which I think led us to make some better decisions that we would not have had without this knowledge in the first place. It didn't occur to me that there was even such a thing as a wait and see option available in an ear infection. In this case, I'm glad to have waited instead of giving him the antibiotics.
BTW, with the wait and see approach, the parents have to be in close collaboration with the doctor.
- please do not withold antibiotics WITHOUT letting your doctor know.
- Doc will be able to decide if baby is a good candidate for this method or is antibiotics a better option.
- taking this method will mean bringing the baby for follow-up checkups more often (every week for about a month) instead of just one checkup at the end of the month if antibiotics is given. This is again a good precautionary measure to take to ensure that the ears are being monitored every step of the way.
Disclaimer:
This post should not be taken to represent medical advice or replace proper consultation with trained professionals. It is by no means an authority on the subject of ear infections and its treatments. It is merely to share our experience and hopefully useful in some way to you.
You'd all be happy to know that he's much better and is his usual happy self. But the BEST birthday present has to be from our doctor's visit this morning. We had a follow-up ear checkup with the doctor and good news - his ear infection has improved and now we wait for the fluids to clear up by itself naturally
And all this with no antibiotics either! (now, before anyone starts to freak out and start hurling personal insults), do read on.
Amazingly after the first visit to the doctor's last week, our little one's condition took a turn for the better immediately the next day. His fever disappeared, no more diarhoea, he slept soundly the whole night through, great appetite and was so full of energy he didn't look like the same little boy the day before.
We called up the doctor and informed her of the current situation and said we would like to keep him off the antibiotics for now and monitor him closely for the next 48-72 hours to see if his condition improves. If not only then we would start him on the course of antibiotics. Doctor was supportive of this option since baby did NOT have acute ear infection to begin with and was in no pain. Plus, all the signs were good.
So, after a long week of waiting and monitoring the situation, it's a great relief to get the good news from the doctor today. The doctor informed us that in Finland, apart from prescribing antibiotics, the practice also includes the wait and see approach in cases of ear infections. However, she said that in most cases, antibiotics are prescribed as a safety net precaution.
Doc did give the impression that mostly antibiotics are prescribed and the wait and see approach is upon request from the parents. Then the doctor will see if the baby is a good candidate for close monitoring in such cases. However, we were even commended on being critical towards the overusage of antibiotics for babies. We were also fortunate that in our case the ear infection cleared up naturally without any complications.
Thank you everyone for this discussion which I think led us to make some better decisions that we would not have had without this knowledge in the first place. It didn't occur to me that there was even such a thing as a wait and see option available in an ear infection. In this case, I'm glad to have waited instead of giving him the antibiotics.
BTW, with the wait and see approach, the parents have to be in close collaboration with the doctor.
- please do not withold antibiotics WITHOUT letting your doctor know.
- Doc will be able to decide if baby is a good candidate for this method or is antibiotics a better option.
- taking this method will mean bringing the baby for follow-up checkups more often (every week for about a month) instead of just one checkup at the end of the month if antibiotics is given. This is again a good precautionary measure to take to ensure that the ears are being monitored every step of the way.
Disclaimer:
This post should not be taken to represent medical advice or replace proper consultation with trained professionals. It is by no means an authority on the subject of ear infections and its treatments. It is merely to share our experience and hopefully useful in some way to you.
Last edited by Shazzer on Wed Mar 28, 2007 8:58 pm, edited 2 times in total.