From: Lisa S. Lewis <lisas@pucc.princeton.edu>
Subject: Re: Preventive Antibiotics (Long)
Originator: news@nimaster
Organization: Princeton  University
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1
     <5046@crl.LABS.TEK.COM> <1993Jan6.171719.25826@cbnewsl.cb.att.com>
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 17:23:44 GMT

>On the subject of Preventive Antibiotics, SOMEONE said:

>The baby (8 1/2 months) has gotten several ear infections already. The
doctor
>gave me a preventative prescription for the next cold (full dose for 10
days
>when cold starts). So far we've been about a month without any colds so I
>haven't had to fill it. (Yay!)
>
>Summary: If your child would get 7 or 8 infections a winter, I think the
>preventative antibiotics probably bring that down to 1 or 2. At 50 bucks
>a pop at the emergency room and possibly time off from work to take the
>kids, I'd recommend it.
>
>Disclaimer: I really like and trust my doctor. To his credit, he has
never
>recommended tubes.
>

I have followed this thread because we too went through a couple of years
of nearly constant antibiotic use.  I am wondering, is NO ONE is troubled
by the possibility of a bad (= long lasting) damaging effect of having
their child on these medications?  

It is certainly true that MILLIONS of children spend their first few
winters on antibiotics, but because our child's development went awry
somewhere in his second year, we have always worried that there might
have been a connection.  Of course, no medical practitioner would EVER
allow as to that having been a possibility, but it still makes us work
very hard to prevent our younger son from being constantly on these
medications.  

Since nearly every developmentally disabled child I have ever met has
been through the ear infection nightmare, it does make me wonder if some
children aren't predisposed to react, as an allergic response, to these
medications.  Perhaps there is a "critical period" for some kids, when
neurological damage could result.  The idea of "cerebral allergies" is a
controversial one, but as I said, every devel. disabled kid I know has
had the run around of antibiotics. And most also have many of the other
environmental allergic reactions, as described by one dad for his son
(Patrick).  

For the baby (13 months old) I'm only treating if there is obvious
discomfort, or if a fever 
doesn't resolve itself within 48 hours (with tylenol if necessary.)  We
got through the first
winter with no antibiotics and so far this winter we've had to use it
once.	

My point here is that antibiotics are serious medications, and they've
been so over-prescribed that the little bugs out there collecting in ear
fluid are largely resistent.  In the early days of penicillian, doctors
would peek in the ear, see redness, give a shot and voila! The infection
was cured.  (This is why so many of our moms SWEAR that THEIR children
didn't have these problems --we did have the infections but it was no big
deal to clear them up.)

I won't let my baby suffer. When he's in obvious discomfort I'll
medicate. But I know he's had at least two infections that resolved
themselves just fine.  And though lots of people  on this list give their
ped. "credit" if they don't recommend tubes...we'll think hard about them
if our son starts to get a lot of infections.

Thankfully, our older son seems to have outgrown them, as he's gotten
many colds in the last year with no infection.  Of course now when he
gets a cold, we seem to have a 50/50 chance that he'll start to wheeze
and out comes the nebulizer!  

Just food for thought.

Lisa Lewis