The child is sick! - The news is not too pleasant for loving and caring parents. Any ailment of the native child is a reason for excitement and anxiety, and even if the baby is seriously ill, with a high fever and the need to drink antibiotics, the parental heart is not at all in place. Even more worries when the crumbs get sick. In order to make life easier for parents in a situation where your beloved baby is sick and you need to urgently find a good medicine, we talk about what antibiotics a 3-year-old child can have for various diseases.
Why drink antibiotics
First of all, we will clarify what an antibiotic is and in what cases its use is necessary and advisable. Any disease that a person can “pick up” (regardless of whether he is an adult or a child), by its nature, is either viral or bacterial. If the virus is "caught", then, as a rule, nothing more is needed except for special antiviral drugs (coldact, for example, corns, teraflu and so on). In the case of a child with a viral infection, you need to drink a lot (however, it will not hurt a sick adult) and rinse your nose. However, if the baby was “attacked” by bacteria, then antibiotics (from the ancient Greek this word is translated as “against life”) cannot be dispensed with.
Antibiotics are special medicines that fight bacteria, destroy them or weaken their effect so much that they become unable to multiply further and cause harm to the human body. Thus, in the presence of a bacterial disease, antibiotics are the first remedy on the way to a speedy recovery.
Types of Antibiotics
Antibiotics are available in a variety of forms and types. Adults are often given injections, but we are talking about babies - and in this case, the use of injections is far from the best idea. Few of the peanuts calmly endure this procedure - which means that almost one hundred percent your baby will cry, scream, break out. To bring to hysteria an already ill-feeling child - do you need it? Of course, if a baby is prescribed a medicine that is simply not available in a different form, then there is no choice. But if he does exist, it is strongly recommended to refrain from acquiring antibiotics for children in the form of injections.
The best antibiotic for a child 3 years old and below will be an antibiotic in the form of a suspension. Sweet syrup is not only disgusting for a baby, but even pleasant. Antibiotics in pills also come in well (for peanuts, it is preferable to crush them than to give them in their entirety), but the liquid form nevertheless takes first place. As a rule, physicians - if they are good doctors - try to prescribe suspensions to the crumbs.
A few simple rules for taking antibiotics
These rules are needed and important for parents of babies, and compliance with them is mandatory.
- When taking antibiotics, you need to constantly monitor the condition of the baby and immediately report any changes to the attending doctor. In case of allergy or Quincke's edema, an ambulance should be urgently called.
- An antibiotic should be taken only if there is a real need for it.
- You can not drink antibiotics as it was done by "the mother’s son’s hostel friend." For each child, the dose and duration of taking the medicine is prescribed individually, based on many parameters - including the weight of the baby.
- You can not give the baby an antibiotic if, according to the instructions for use of this drug, he has not yet "grown up" to the permission to take it.
- The list of officially available antibiotics for children includes penicillins, cephalosporins, carbopenems, macrolides, aminoglycosides.
- Antibiotics are not antipyretic drugs!
Antibiotics for 3 year olds
So, finally, let's move on to the question we are interested in - which antibiotic should be given to a child at 3 years old? It depends on why the antibiotic is needed - that is, what needs to be cured. Next, we consider the most common causes of antibiotic use and, accordingly, we name the possible three-year-olds for use.
Often taking antibiotics is indicated at high temperatures, which lasts for several days and does not fall even after antipyretic drugs. You can also prescribe such medicines with angina, severe cough, bronchitis. Be sure to prescribe antibiotics for pneumonia and otitis media, but ARI and SARS are most often treated without the inclusion of this type of therapy. Next, we consider in detail the most popular antibiotics for babies, but we emphasize: we will not talk about the dosage and course of taking the drugs here, since, as mentioned above, this is an individual matter and is determined by the attending doctor.
Ampicillin
"Ampicillin" is a penicillin antibiotic and, perhaps, takes one of the first places for prescribing for tots of preschool age. Thus, it falls into the category of possible antibiotics for a child of 3 years old, and often doctors prescribe it.
Ampicillin is found both in powder for suspension and in tablets (there is also powder for injection, but we remember that for children this form is not the most favorable). He enjoys a good reputation with doctors, because he does not destroy the intestinal microflora, is well absorbed and affects a huge number of bacteria. Indications for starting Ampicillin may include diseases such as any ENT infection (including tonsillitis), intestinal infections, skin diseases (including erysipelas), meningitis, any genitourinary infections, pneumonia, peritonitis, whooping cough, sepsis , bursitis, conjunctivitis and so on. The list is huge, as you can see, so any parent of a three-year-old should keep this drug in mind and include it in their list of antibiotics for children 3 years old. However, it can be, after all, and not only for three years: Ampicillin is officially allowed from a month of age. Of course, in the absence of contraindications, which include individual intolerance to the drug, liver failure, infectious mononucleosis, digestive tract pathologies and lymphocytic leukemia. Not banned, but requires caution "Ampicillin" with previous bleeding, hay fever, impaired renal function or bronchial asthma.
Amoxicillin
This antibiotic is an analogue of the above. He also belongs to the penicillin group, his testimony, contraindications and the principle of action coincide with Ampicillin.
The only difference is that, despite the possibility of taking Amoxicillin from birth, it is prescribed for babies up to two years old only in case of urgent need. However, for a 3-year-old child, an antibiotic is quite suitable.
Augmentin
Another drug from the penicillin group, which is a companion of the above antibiotics for a child of 3 years old, is Augmentin. If the doctor prescribed this particular medicine to your baby, then you will receive it exclusively in the form of a suspension - this is the kind that is prescribed to all “Kinder” children up to twelve years old. Like the two above-mentioned analogs of Augmetin, it is quite well tolerated in crumbs, but, of course, like any medicine, it has its own contraindications, in particular, jaundice transferred earlier. Up to three months of age, the reception of Augmentin is prohibited.
"Flemoxin Solutab"
What antibiotics can be used when a child is 3 years old? Flemoxin Solutab, for example, is a great choice. Surprisingly, but it belongs to the penicillin group of drugs. This antibiotic is produced in the Netherlands in one single form: tablets that are easily soluble in water (this fact, by the way, is encrypted in the mysterious and mysterious word "solutab" in the name). The main active substance in it is amoxicillin. "Flemoxin Solutab" is perfectly absorbed, and excreted in the urine, hence its first contraindication - kidney disease. Also, you should not drink the drug for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and lymphocytic leukemia.
"Flemoxin Solutab" is successfully used as an antibiotic for coughing in children 3 years old and earlier. It is prescribed for tonsillitis and bronchitis, pneumonia - in general, for any diseases of the respiratory tract, - for skin diseases, scarlet fever, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and genitourinary infections. This antibiotic can be drunk even to newborn babies; most often it is recommended for children up to five years old, because it is very convenient for them to give medicine in a similar (soluble) form.
"Azithromycin"
This antibiotic, unlike all the previous ones, does not apply to penicillins. The active substance in it has a similar name, and the drug is prescribed mainly for diseases of the genitourinary system. Also, it is often chosen as an antibiotic in children at 3 years old with bronchitis, tonsillitis and other various respiratory infections. “Azithromycin” has many advantages: it has low toxicity, and the effect of the medication is very long-term.
The antibiotic is available in several forms: powder, capsules, tablets and injection. We noted above that with acute respiratory infections and acute respiratory viral infections, antibiotic therapy is extremely rare, but if it is prescribed, then Azithromycin is best suited. And since it is approved for use from six months of age, it is worthy of being on the list of possible antibiotics for colds for children at 3 years old. True, you should pay attention to the ban on the use of "Azithromycin" in case of impaired liver function and kidney disease.
Sumamed
Like “Azithromycin”, “Sumamed” belongs to the group of macrolides, moreover, azithromycin is its main active ingredient. This is a wonderful antibiotic in children at 3 years old with otitis media, bronchitis, sinusitis and other infectious diseases. It has a lot of forms: powder for suspensions, and dissolving tablets, and ordinary tablets, and capsules. Since “Sumamed” contains azithromycin, it is also permissible to drink this antibiotic for colds or after them as a result of bacterial complications. In addition, it is prescribed for all other diseases in which "Azithromycin" is also prescribed, starting from the age of six months.
Clarithromycin
Among the adult population, Clarithromycin is very popular because it is a rather effective antibiotic for coughing. In children at 3 years of age, its use is possible with reservations, which we will discuss later. In the meantime, you should learn something about the drug itself. So, it is produced in Russia, the Czech Republic and Israel - in the form of tablets, capsules and injections, which are strictly forbidden to anyone under the age of eighteen.
Clarithromycin is suitable for treating not only cough and respiratory organs in general. It is prescribed for soft tissue inflammation, peptic ulcer diseases, as well as fungal infections. And now those very reservations: “Clarithromycin” as an antibiotic is allowed to be taken only from the age of twelve. If necessary, all children under the age are prescribed analogs of the medication containing the same active active substance (it is called clarithromycin). An example of such an analogue will be given below.
Klacid
In the macrolide group, there is another drug that is an excellent antibiotic for tonsillitis for children 3 years old. It is prescribed for other lesions of the respiratory system - bronchitis, otitis media, pneumonia, sinusitis, pharyngitis and the like. In addition, doctors prescribe this antibiotic for skin diseases. In total, “Klacid” has three forms - powder for injection, powder for suspension and tablets, and the active substance is clarithromycin - thus, “Klacid” can just be called the very analogue that we discussed above.
As for the age at which the medication can be used, it depends on the form of the drug. Starting from six months, it is allowed to use Klacid in the form of a suspension, and from three years old it is allowed to give babies and tablets. As for injections, they are prohibited until eighteen years old. However, the opposite is permissible exclusively in extremely difficult and serious situations, as well as when taking the drug inside is impossible.
Klacid has a lot of contraindications compared to the previously described drugs. Liver diseases, liver failure, porphyria, hypokalemia, heart failure, bradycardia, arrhythmia, sucrose and / or isomaltase deficiency - all these are significant reasons for refusing to use Klacid.
Cefotaxime
The representative of another group, cephalosporins, is an antibiotic called Cefotaxime. It belongs to the third generation of antibiotics, it is rapidly destroyed in the digestive tract and for this reason it is released only in the form of a solution for injection. Adults are often prescribed this medication, as well as older children. However, babies, as we remember, are better not to give injections. Intramuscular injections are generally prohibited for up to two and a half years; intravenous injections should be carried out with extreme caution. Meningitis and otitis media, pneumonia and sinusitis, osteomyelitis and peritonitis - all these diseases in which, as we already know, other drugs are prescribed, allow the use of “Cefotaxime”. However, it should not be given to children with ulcerative colitis and kidney disease.
Suprax
The antibiotic in tablets for children 3 years old is a drug from cephalosporins - "Supraks". These tablets dissolve in water, that is, are well suited for babies. In addition, this drug exists in the form of capsules and granules for suspension. Like many other crumbs suspensions (strictly speaking, almost all), Supraks in this form will have the smell and taste of strawberries.
Like the medication described above, Suprax is a representative of the third generation of antibiotics. It is approved for use by children from six months, and appoint it for pneumonia, bronchitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis; it is a good antibiotic for 3 years old children with angina and intestinal infection, pyelonephritis and cystitis, sinusitis, otitis media and so on. But with a cold, “Suprax” is prohibited for use, as well as with chickenpox and other viral infections.
With caution, the above antibiotic should be prescribed to children with diabetes mellitus, renal failure, colitis.
Cefix
What antibiotic for angina can a 3-year-old child be given, and which not? The list of the latter is quite extensive, we won’t give it here - but the Cefix definitely refers to the former. It is prescribed not only for tonsillitis, but also in principle for any infections of both the upper and lower respiratory and urinary tracts. This medication, available in capsule form (for adults) and suspension powder (for children), is approved for use from the age of six months. Contraindications include individual intolerance and porphyria.
What to do in order not to get sick
Antibiotics are a good thing and help you quickly get on your feet, but it’s best not to get sick at all. And for this you need to stick to a few simple things:
- Often wash and wash your hands - this helps to get rid of a large number of microbes and pathogenic bacteria.
- Drink plenty of fluids.
- Sleep at least 10-11 hours for preschoolers, at least 8-9 for younger schoolchildren.
- Move a lot - physical activity is necessary for all children.
- Daily walk in the fresh air, while being dressed for the weather.
- Eat right.
That's all you need to know about possible antibiotics for a 3 year old child. Health to you and your children!