antibiotic

Just a note to say one of the best antibiotics is no antibiotic. And that includes alternatives! A review published in JAMA has found that using antibiotics for ear infections in children is no better than just giving the kiddies pain relief. Antibiotics did produce some slight benefit but this was lost when side effects like diarrhea and rash were factored in. Researchers say the review, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, shows the merit of a watch-and-wait approach to managing ear infections. Based on their review of more than 100 studies published over the last decade, the researchers were able to quantify the risks and benefits of treatment with antibiotics. They estimated that for every 100 otherwise healthy children with uncomplicated middle ear infections, about 80 could be expected to improve without antibiotics within about three days.

Just a note to say one of the best antibiotics is no antibiotic. And that includes alternatives! A review published in JAMA has found that using antibiotics for ear infections in children is no better than just giving the kiddies pain relief. Antibiotics did produce some slight benefit but this was lost when side effects like diarrhea and rash were factored in. Researchers say the review, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, shows the merit of a watch-and-wait approach to managing ear infections. Based on their review of more than 100 studies published over the last decade, the researchers were able to quantify the risks and benefits of treatment with antibiotics. They estimated that for every 100 otherwise healthy children with uncomplicated middle ear infections, about 80 could be expected to improve without antibiotics within about three days.