Antibiotics Often Unnecessary for Kid’s Ear Infections
November 18th, 2010 - 2:56 am ICT by Angela Kaye MasonNov 17 (THAINDIAN NEWS) A new review shows that treating the ear infections of children with antibiotics may not always be the best thing to do financially, nor is it worth the side effects that the treatment may cause. The review was done on over one hundred studies of ear infections in kids and how antibiotics on them.
Acute ear infections are more contracted by American children than any other illness, and they are almost always treated by antibiotics. This leads to almost 2.8 billion dollars spent every year, which adds up to almost three hundred and fifty dollars per child.
According to the lead researcher, Dr. Tumaini R. Coker of the University of California, Los Angeles, “We found that antibiotics did offer a modest benefit in treating ear infections in children, but they were also associated with an increased risk of side effects, such as rash and diarrhea. A substantial savings in the costs of treatment could be seen by using a less aggressive approach to prescribing antibiotics,” according to ‘Reuters Health’.
Only thirteen percent more kids actually recovered within fourteen days after treatment that those who were not treated with antibiotics.
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