4 yr old refuses to take antibiotics

heidi

Wed, May 09 2018, 6:36 am

amother wrote:

how terrible would it be if he didnt take the antibiotics? here in the uk we dont do strep test and meds are rarely given for sore throats, swollen tonsils or earaches unless the paitent is very unwell with it (high fever etc).
bih my kids are on antibiotics maybe once every couple of years! I know in the wonderful us of a they are quicker to prescribe. just my two cents!

ה' ירחם
Rheumatic fever
I know a child who died of untreated strep. Yes, in this day and age.
Please, put your two cents in a pushka where they belong.
OP, I second the vote for an antibiotic injection. It's a one time deal, though the area is very sore afterward.

little neshamala

Wed, May 09 2018, 7:59 am

My daughter at age 3 put up the biggest fuss about her medicine, worse than she had ever done before...so I tried it myself. It was HORRENDOUS. I couldnt swallow it, and it made me feel really bad.
As health conscious of a mom as I am, I filled a tablespoon halfway with chocolate syrup, squeezed a dot of medicine, then covered it with more syrup. It took multiple spoons! But even like that she still grimaced, but at least she swallowed it....some medicines really are truly awful. And this went on for days...she
Probably finished half a syrup bottle!

amother

Maroon

Wed, May 09 2018, 10:47 am

amother wrote:

My grandmother had untreated strep and it damaged her heart - she needed surgery to repair and the surgeon said it was because of the strep.

My brother had untreated strep as a 4 year old because some crazy doctor said it would go away on its own. He developed Scarlet Fever from it. He was so sick it was a true neis he survived. It took him nearly a year to learn to walk again... BH he's ok today but it could have caused permanent damage. (yes, my mom got a new doc after that).

Please finish the entire course of antibiotics or talk to the doctor about other options - keep your little angel healthy!

By the way, liquid amoxicillin is one of the yuckiest tasting antibiotics... I completely understand why your little one is fighting it.

Mommy1:)

Wed, May 09 2018, 10:52 am

amother wrote:

Did you have to go to the dr for ten days of injections , or was it just one?

Hi! We did 1 injection, and had to do a repeat a week later because the infection wasn't improving as expected. My little darling did fuss a bit but it wasn't as bad as a vaccination - no fever and irritability from the shot, and he forgot about the shot right away (until he saw the doctor again that is Wink

)

The needle didn't seem especially large to me.

Metukah

Wed, May 09 2018, 10:58 am

amother wrote:

I live in the UK and I completely disagree. At least in the US they take throat cultures so they know if antibiotics are necessary or not. Here in England, if the high temperature persists and the the doctor thinks the throat looks infected he will prescribe antibiotics. If you saw a doctor and he didn't prescribe antibiotics and the child felt better then the doctor was right and it was viral. If it is an infection it won't just go away by itself.

amother

Salmon

Wed, May 09 2018, 11:08 am

amother wrote:

Now just to clarify, I'm not in any way saying not to take the abx...

...but, scarlet fever is quite common here in the UK. Kids have the symptoms for a few days and are back to school within days. Its really not known as a terrible illness at all. As the other UK poster mentioned, we don't do strep tests here. If you're really unwell a few days and not getting better, showing all symptoms of bacterial infection, then you will be prescribed abx. I've never come across a single child with strep (aside from my daughter once and I'll explain below). And aside from my own brood, I've worked in a preschool for almost 15 years. Even with scarlet fever many children do not take Abx and they recover fine.

It's interesting how different countries have different rules. I'm sure the UK doctors are as much aware as the US doctors about strep infection. For some reason (perhaps because UK doctors work through the NHS and aren't paid on an individual basis) in the UK strep is not a serious illness. Then again neither is chicken pox, scarlet fever, slapped cheek or tonsilitis. Surprised

(My daughter who was being seen by a surgeon for various reasons, was diagnosed with strep. Her surgeon told us to hold off on abx as she didn't have a high fever. He swabbed her a few days later and the strep was gone. She's BH a very healthy child otherwise and he explained that many of us have strep in the back of our throats so if we test each time we are sick, it's likely to be positive even if the strep is not causing the symptoms. That's why he said the don't swab us here. Just his opinion I guess but I do trust him in general)

Mommyg8

Wed, May 09 2018, 11:16 am

amother wrote:

Now just to clarify, I'm not in any way saying not to take the abx...

...but, scarlet fever is quite common here in the UK. Kids have the symptoms for a few days and are back to school within days. Its really not known as a terrible illness at all. As the other UK poster mentioned, we don't do strep tests here. If you're really unwell a few days and not getting better, showing all symptoms of bacterial infection, then you will be prescribed abx. I've never come across a single child with strep And aside from my own brood, I've worked in a preschool for almost 15 years. Even with scarlet fever many children do not take Abx and they recover fine.

It's interesting how different countries have different rules. I'm sure the UK doctors are as much aware as the US doctors about strep infection. For some reason (perhaps because UK doctors work through the NHS and aren't paid on an individual basis) in the UK strep is not a serious illness. Then again neither is chicken pox, scarlet fever, slapped cheek or tonsilitis. Surprised

The reason they don't treat it is simple - strep cultures cost money, and since the government is funding they get to decide what's necessary (sorry if my US bias is coming across here!)

You almost never see scarlet fever here in the US, if your child would have it you would almost be called an abusive parent. And truthfully, there really can be long term consequences to untreated strep. I know a child who died from it - here in the US - because his parents didn't believe in antibiotics.

Just because you haven't encountered it, doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

Metukah

Wed, May 09 2018, 12:14 pm

amother wrote:

You might not have come across a child with strep but my son has had it more times than I can count on one hand. Confirmed each time. He also had crazy high fever which left untreated can cause brain damage.
I had scarlet fever when I was young and I clearly, as clear as it was yesterday, remember the doctor saying that it was rare. He also said that thanks to medication today I would survive but 50 years ago I probably wouldn't have. I find it hard to believe that scarlet fever is common where you are and it is left untreated.
I'm getting dizzy just thinking of all the complications that can arise from leaving strep, scarlet fever and high temperature untreated.

amother

Salmon

Wed, May 09 2018, 12:37 pm

Metukah wrote:

I totally respect what you're saying. I still suggest it depends on the country you're from. The NHS (equivalent to CDC) state that although it used to be a deadly disease (as did pretty much every disease out there) it is now common and most likely uncomplicated due to good sanitation, healthy immune systems and proper medication when necessary. When it does circulate, we send out letters to parents to look out for symptoms, just as we do with outbreaks of chicken pox etc..

Just to add, although it's really a digression from the subject at hand, chicken pox is stated by the CDC as a deadly disease and children in the U.S. are vaccinated against it. The UK where children aren't vaccinated for it, we are informed it's a mild childhood illness which almost every child will catch. One of the parents of my student wanted to have the chicken pox vaccine because she didn't want her daughter to catch them as she had just recovered from another illness. Her doctor advised her that she'd be better off catching the pox than having the shot as she was more vulnerable to the effects of the shot than the pox themsleves. (Incidentally she caught CP and was right as rain in under a week). But I digress.

My point is, for whatever reasons different countries have different rules. Its hard for us to understand the American way because it seems so much more medicalised and unecessary, and it's probably hard for you to understand our way as it may seem negligent, or incompetent. Somehow we both survive generation to generation and the UK do not have a lower life expectancy than the U.S. (Statistically the US at 5.9/1000 does have a higher infant morbidity rate than the UK 3.6/1000, and UK adults are expected to live to 81.6 whilst the US is 78.7. As of 2015).

amother

Papaya

Wed, May 09 2018, 1:48 pm

My youngest child had recurring ear infections before we put tubes in his ears. He was 3-4 @ the time. I was @ a loss b/c medicine time became the fiasco that everyone has described. I asked the doctor to prescribe the medicine in pill form. Then, I put the pill in a spoonful of applesauce. My son then swallowed it. Usually w/o a lot of problem. Try it. If the child can swallow applesauce easily, then he/she should be able to swallow it with a pill. Even if the pill is large. Don’t crush the pill or open the capsule. Crushing & mixing with applesauce leaves a bad taste & usually isn’t necessary. Opening a capsule, is usually not recommended & is not necessary to get the child to swallow.

Metukah

Wed, May 09 2018, 2:35 pm

amother wrote:

According to the NHS scarlet fever is extremely infectious for 7 days and is treated with antibiotics. It is rare and has become more common in the last 2 years with no reasonable explanation.

I still stand by my view that strep MUST be treated with antibiotics.