Don’t give kids antibiotics, docs warn parents

Hyderabad: Doctors have raised concerns about children being given antibiotics by their parents without even consulting doctors.

Antibiotics are effective only against bacterial infections while most infections among children during monsoon are viral, opine many doctors. They lamented the general habit among up to 80 per cent of parents of giving their children antibiotics whenever they fall sick. This self-medication could be detrimental to the health of children, they said.

Paediatrician Dr. Shivaranjani Santosh says currently, viral infections like herpangina, hand foot and mouth disease, dengue, flu, Covid, viral diarrhoea and vomiting account for more than 90 per cent of infections among children, while bacterial infections are at 10 per cent.

“For throat pain, they give their kids Azithral and Oflomac for loose motions. This can cause side effects like diarrhoea and vomiting and can even kill useful gut bacteria,” she said.

Dr. Santosh said that specific antiviral medicines are meant only for certain infections like severe flu and chickenpox.

Consultant paediatrician at Apollo Cradle, Kondapur, Dr. Avash Pani too has been getting many cases where parents have administered antibiotics for viral infections without consulting a doctor.

“This is a very serious problem and its scale is rising. In fact, when I don’t prescribe antibiotics, parents request me to do so,” he said.

Dr Pani said that India has been grappling with people developing resistance to antibodies due to their indiscriminate use.

Some other common medicines which parents are administering to their kids without consultations are Azee, Zifi, Taxim, Augmentin, Clampkid, Clavam, Copedem, Monocef and Oflox OZ. They have advised all parents to consult a doctor for the sake of their children.