That's what doctors fear may slowly be happening. More and more, they say, antibiotics are not working, leaving parents with many sleepless nights and doctors with limited options. Cari Tatian's daughter Claudia had her first ear infection two months ago, and since then she's tried four different antibiotics to bring it under control. They say traditional medicines such as Amoxicillin are increasingly ineffective. Ironically, this gives the existing bacteria a greater chance of becoming stronger.
Most experts agree the best solution is to cut down on the amount of antibiotics given altogether.
But when an antibiotic is needed and doesn't work, the consequences can be great. Doctors suspect that Claudia, for example, may have lost some of her hearing, and her mom's worried about the future. Claudia may need to have tubes surgically inserted into her ears, a procedure doctors usually reserve for children who have had multiple ear infections. In fact, some pediatricians believe there may be a rise in these surgeries as a result of antibiotic resistance. The good news is there are a number of new drugs being studied that may provide added weapons against this common childhood illness.