Thrive Nutrition Practice: the antibiotic epidemic
Okay. This is what happened: After 5 days of the antibiotic Augmentin (amoxicillin), my daughter was still complaining that her ear hurt and her hearing had not improved.
So -- back to the doctor we went and he referred us to an Ear Nose & Throat specialist.
This is what I learned from the ENT specialist :
- Augmentin is notorious for causing diarrhea. That explains my daughter's very smelly poops.
- Augmentin is NO LONGER the antibiotic of choice to clear up bacterial infections in Hong Kong because streptococcus (which is the bacteria that Doctor's assume is causing infections) is proving increasingly resistant against the drug. HOW DID MY PAEDIATRICIAN NOT KNOW THIS????
- Because the antibiotic did not have any positive impact on her ear infection, the infection spread to her other ear and her tonsils. SO IT DIDN'T WORK AND SHE'S WORSE OFF.
So Hong Kong Moms reading this -- please take note. If you are prescribed Augmentin by your doctor for strep or an ear infection, get a second opinion.
More learning points from the ENT specialist, which I'm sharing to help moms avoid the antibiotic nightmare I'm going through now:
If your child is prone to ear, nose and throat infections, this is a good routine to follow at first signs of an infection to ensure the passages stay as clean and open as possible:
- THROAT GARGLING: If your child knows how to gargle, please get her to do so 1-2 times a day. Salt water is the ENT's gargle of choice but it's nasty. Please try a gargle with colloidal silver by mixing 2 parts colloidal silver with 4 parts water. It's tasteless and effective.
- NASAL SPRAY. You can also get colloidal silver in a nasal spray on iherb.com. Twice a day each nostril. Otherwise, you can ask your doctor to prescribe one.
- ANTIHISTAMINE. If your child is really stuffed up, an antihistamine can also help. Please ask your doctor for advice on which one is best and dosage.
Sofia has a sticky ear now and a new infection brewing in her other ear and her throat. Because her hearing is compromised and I don't want it to be permanent, we are now on a whole new round of meds, that includes a new antibiotic for another week.
I AM ANGRY. Angry that I was given a useless antibiotic.
Angry the useless antibiotic gave her grosse poops.
Angry that I paid through the nose for crappy advice.
But I'm going to channel that anger into something good. So, next steps:
Remember - I did 5 days of traditional herbal remedies before taking Sofia to the doctor. So, I'm thinking WHY DIDN'T THESE REMEDIES WORK?
- As a nutritionist, I know that food intolerances cause inflammation and are one of the main reasons children can't fight off ear infections. So, I'm going to find out if Sofia has any food intolerances. To do that I'm going to do an IgG test.
An IgG test is NOT a food allergy test. An IgG test helps us uncover those "slower acting" allergies that can cause symptoms and inflammation for up to 5 days after they're eaten.
I really hope sharing this learning experience helps moms out there.
The indiscriminate use of antibiotics is creating a health epidemic.
The Economist wrote an article about this very subject last week. Click here to read.
Please share this post. Education & awareness is key.
I myself am determined to do everything I can to never be in this position again.
And if I can help others, all the better. Because frankly - us moms, we got to watch out for our tribe. It takes a village.
Thrive Nutrition Practice is owned by holistic nutrition, Cristina Tahoces, DHN.