Antibiotics Update
Well, here’s what I did. I kept taking my poor daughter’s temperature at what seemed like every hour, maybe every thirty minutes. So much so, she started grabbing the thermometer and sticking it in her armpit all by herself. She even pressed the button to start the reading! The fever stuck on an off for just over a day, topping out at 99.9. I gave her acetaminophen in the day and then some ibuprofen in the evening before bed, and although she seemed fine, I was still concerned about this lingering fever. So, the next day, I ended up filling the prescription at the pharmacy. One nice pink, chalky bottle of amoxicillin. Yum. There, I had it. I was prepared to start the antibiotics if she still had a fever that evening. That would have been two full days of a fever, which meant she probably wasn’t kicking it herself. Still, the louder part of my mind was saying, give it another day. One more day. Was I wrong?
As evening rolled around, her temp was 99.3 and I opted to try one more night… only because she didn’t seem like she was in any pain whatsoever. So, long story short, I didn’t give her the antibiotics and on our return appointment to the doctor, she came up free and clear of the ear infection. I’m so glad I stuck it out one more night and didn’t start a ten-day treatment. How very European of me, right? But man, was I a huge stress ball for two days. Some of you might think I was over thinking the whole thing, and maybe I was, but I guess that what you do as a mom… especially a mom with access to Google.
I just wanted to update everyone and say thanks for the feedback. Giving antibiotics for an ear infection is such a personal choice, but if I were to give advice on the matter, I’d say follow your own gut instinct along with your doctor’s orders… that is, if you can decipher them!
