Again, there’s a case to be made for the wisdom of doing nothing. This time, studies show it’s often best to just wait out your kid’s ear infection rather than automatically asking the doc for antibiotics.
Eighty out of 100 children with ear infections will get better on their own in about three days, according to a review of 135 previously published studies in today’s Journal of the American Medical Association.
But there’s no damage done by giving the kid antibiotics anyway, right? Wrong. And we’re not just talking about damage in the form of money wasted on unnecessary prescriptions:
The benefits of antibiotics seem even smaller in light of their side effects: Three to 10 children will develop a medication-related rash; five to 10 more will get diarrhea, says author Tumaini Coker, a pediatrician at Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA.
So what are you supposed to do? Just wait it out? Pretty much: The consensus among pediatricians is that parents should first give their kids with ear infections a does of over-the-counter ibuprofen at bedtime. If the infection doesn’t ease up or go away in three days, then it’s probably time to hit the antibiotics—after consulting your pediatrician, of course.
Read more:
The Impatience of Patients, and How It Costs Us All