Antibiotics: Good or Bad?

Antibiotics – they are good right? They help cure infections. Well yes…and no. Antibiotics, prescribed appropriately, are a great tool to help your child overcome bacterial infections. However, in recent years, it has been shown that antibiotics are being prescribed when they are not called for. When antibiotics are not needed, they do NOT help you feel better, or cure you faster. So, this overprescribing has consequences including avoidable side effects, antibiotic resistance, and unnecessary cost.

After the emergence of penicillin in the 1940s, scientists began to notice that certain strains of bacteria were not affected by antibiotics. Since that time, this problem has only become worse, with more and more bacteria evolving to combat prescribed antibiotics. When a doctor is wary about prescribing you an antibiotic, this is one of the issues that rests in the back of their mind. Too many antibiotics and the bacteria become resistant, causing the need for stronger and stronger antibiotics to combat them. With this comes the increased risk for adverse side effects such as diarrhea, yeast infections, Clostridium Difficile infections and allergic reactions.

If your child’s doctor (or even your own) does not recommend an antibiotic there is a good reason. Get educated and learn when an antibiotic is necessary and when it is not.

The Center for Disease Control has launched an antibiotic stewardship program, and the Society for Pediatric Urgent Care has also launched a quality improvement program for antibiotics. Little Spurs is actively participating in this and hopes to help educate the public as to why antibiotics are not always the answer.

If your child is sick or injured, bring them to Little Spurs Pediatric Urgent Care. We are a walk-in pediatric urgent care open seven days a week. We have 11 locations in San Antonio and one in Dallas. Our Potranco clinic, located at 14249 Potranco Road, will open early 2020. For more information, please email us at info@littlespurs.com. We welcome walk-ins, accept most insurance plans and are proud to be accredited by the Urgent Care Association!