Sick DD

Hi all,

My DD has had a cough/cold for a month or more that seems to come and go but she hasn't been able to shake it completely. I took her to the dr a few weeks to a month ago and they said it was a virus so I've been waiting it out hoping it will eventually go.

Last Sunday I noticed the cough sounding worse and then when I picked her up from childcare on Monday she had a high temp. So I took her off to the dr who prescribed her antibiotics for her chest.

At the beginning of the week she pooed non-stop about 5 times a day diarrhea poos. She has had poo explosions everyday at least twice a day I have had to bath her after almost every poo. She spewed all over herself in the car on thurs I think it was. She hasn't been really sick like lethargic or had a temp since Monday but she has been pretty irritable almost all the time.

So the dr prescribed the antibiotics for 7 days and I have stopped giving them to her after yesterday morning's dose (today should be the last day) because I am so concerned that she has had this for almost 7 days. I was trying to make the 7 days but I just can't give it to her if that's whats causing the upset tummy and I want to at least eliminate that as a cause if its not the problem.

This morning I woke to find her completely covered in another poo and soaked through all her clothes and sleeping bag...and she hadn't had a dose since yesterday morning.

So I am not sure if it is the antibiotics or if its gastro, or both or something else. A bad tin of formula? Should I be going back to the dr? Or wait to see if she improves after stopping the antibiotics?

My poor baby I hate seeing her like this.

I’m gonna tell you off because I work in a hospital and it’s a serious issue tongue You should never end a course of antibiotics early without checking with your doc first as it can make any bacteria which are still alive resistant to the antibiotic. It's a serious problem and there are numerous bacteria now which are resistant to most antibiotics and a couple that are resistant to all antibiotics.

Antibiotics also destroy good bacteria which live in the gut - the gut flora. The gut bacteria actually help with digestion and help prevent the growth of harmful, pathogenic bacteria. If the bacteria are killed off it can cause diarrhoea.

Antibiotics won't do anything for viral infections - and shouldn't be prescribed unless there's a bacterial infection present.

It is probably just the antibiotics causing her diarrhoea, but you can take her back to the doc and have a poo specimen sent off just to make sure it's not gastro. In the mean time try giving her natural yogurt or baby pro-biotics as they can help restore the gut flora.

I know how you feel – my bub’s recovering from a viral infection (had temps of 39C) and there’s nothing worse than seeing your child suffer. Hope your little one gets better soon smile

I’m gonna tell you off because I work in a hospital and it’s a serious issue tongue You should never end a course of antibiotics early without checking with your doc first as it can make any bacteria which are still alive resistant to the antibiotic. It's a serious problem and there are numerous bacteria now which are resistant to most antibiotics and a couple that are resistant to all antibiotics.

Antibiotics also destroy good bacteria which live in the gut - the gut flora. The gut bacteria actually help with digestion and help prevent the growth of harmful, pathogenic bacteria. If the bacteria are killed off it can cause diarrhoea.

Antibiotics won't do anything for viral infections - and shouldn't be prescribed unless there's a bacterial infection present.

It is probably just the antibiotics causing her diarrhoea, but you can take her back to the doc and have a poo specimen sent off just to make sure it's not gastro. In the mean time try giving her natural yogurt or baby pro-biotics as they can help restore the gut flora.

I know how you feel – my bub’s recovering from a viral infection (had temps of 39C) and there’s nothing worse than seeing your child suffer. Hope your little one gets better soon smile

I know Cruxy, my Dad has always made sure we understood the story with antibiotics and that's why I was really trying to keep her on them til the last day but it seemed crazy to keep giving her something making her so sick. And I don't know if there even is an infection? The dr just listened to her chest and prescribed them so assuming he thought there was?

She's still got a cough but its not nasty like it was before shes pretty much stopped coughing but still has runny snot so has a cough occasionally to clear that out of her throat. I tried giving her some decongestant this morning but haven't really noticed an improvement because I only gave her 1.5 mls so might not have been enough. It says only over 2 yrs on the box but my normal dr told me to give her a small dose back when they told me she had the virus.

Thank you, I will try the natural yoghurt and pro-biotics. Hope your little man is better soon too xx