[Closed] Children and antibiotics

Ask your GP...

...oh!

You have my sympathy, my lad is terrible with medicine, we normally end up riding illness out with him after trying and failing to get the drugs in him.

I guess each case is different, sounds like what your daughter has will need the antibiotics to clear it up, however I sit in an office all day and herd cats, I have absolutely no medical training other than changing channels if Casualty comes on.

Maybe not ill yet, Pieface, but there is a heck of a lot down there susceptible to damage and I'd be looking to get this cleared up before it really gets a hold.

This is where you mix the yucky into some milkshake, but not her usual brand or she spots the difference.

Pieface - Member

Our young daughter has a bacterial infection but isn't actually ill (discharge from fufu). The GP has taken a swab and pescribed antibiotics. The antibiotics are liquid form and she won't take them as its yucky.

Pharmacist has said its not available in a different flavour or tablet form - children need to have medicine. This sounds like BS on both counts - surely my GP can prescribe whatever they choose?

On the one hand I think its not worth her taking ABs if there's no symptoms, but on the other maybe this is being proactive before it develops in to something else?

There are symptoms, you've described them.

Honestly, just try to work out how to get her to take it, rather than try to second-guess your GP / Pharmacist using a Cycling Forum for research material.

There could be any number of reasons why they prescribed what they did, they don't have time to regurgitate many years of training and experience to justify it and if it was as easy as picking one that tasted nice, we'd just be able to buy them over the counter like Calpol.

Flucloxacillin by any chance? My lad couldn't keep it down. I told him to stop being a wuss and had a sip. 😯

Now I'm all for forcing medicines down the throat of unwilling children, but the issue of how palatable it is is a genuine one for child medicines.

It's quite possible there may be an alternative antibiotic or one which can be prescribed in tablet form. Your doc would rather she actually complied with the medication rather than didn't take the full course. Have a word on the phone.

Isn't that what a spoonful of sugar is for?

Its most likely metronidazole. There are tablets but probably would not add up to correct dose for your child - kids abx tend to be prescribed by weight. I can fully believe that there is only one flavour - so i would say both your GP and pharmacist are speaking the truth.

In terms of whether to take or not - its probably just bacterial vaginosis - not a problem in itself but that can go on to cause pelvic inflammatory disease which can be a cause of infertility - so if it were my child I would be getting her to take them.

I found a syringe helps - get it to the back of the throat quickly and with least taste. Followed up swiftly with a Haribo 🙂

We lived in fear of the kids being prescribed the banana flavoured antibiotics.

My son used to be able to take a spoonful of antibiotics then half a bottle of milk, he'd then sick up the a-b but keep the milk down.

As above, you just need to find the right leverage with the kid as they need different dosage than adults and only available as liquid.

Might be worth getting a bifidious culture tablet for kids. The antibiotics can also kill the good intestinal bacteria and lead to thrush of mouth etc which is unpleasant.

there may be vaginal ceams/gels depending on what the GP believes the infection is but I'd be persuading her to take the liquid rather than multiple internal applications of some goo

pretty much all antibiotics taste rank, so it's all about strong flavouring AND persuasion.

Top trick we found was to get hoppy jr to suck on an ice pop a) it's a treat in advance and b) the cold numbs the taste buds so it doesn't taste as bad. Worked wonders trying to get antibiotics into him.

We sometimes end up with an unpleasant tasting one for one of our kids. Can't remember the name offhand, but it is a kind of chalky suspension. Mix it 50:50 with ribena and she's OK with it.

Pharmacist can only dispense exactly what is on the script. GP sometimes has some flexibility - but remember that not all antibiotics are the same and there is often a preferred choice for good clinical reasons.

We have, sometimes, just forced them in with a syringe but that isn't pleasant.

Good old fashioned bribery works well in this situation.

Whats a fu fu?

On the one hand I think its not worth her taking ABs if there's no sympto

Bacterial infections in kids can rapidly turn into sepsis, you don't want to **** about and risk that. An infected fu fu isn't going to clear itself easily.

I think it's what we call a woowoo in this house.

I've got one of those on my Skoda.

[quote=Drac ]I've got one of those on my Skoda.

Really? Most of the ****s round here are in BMWs

Nice! 😆