My daughter has bedn recently quite sick and I waited for 4 days until she started antibiotics. Now I think she could have had them earlier and avoid sleepless nights and getting exhausted. What do you think? Is the fear of antibiotics overexaggerated? thanks

Hello. Many childhood illnesses are caused by viruses which the body fights by itself. Antibiotics do not work in such cases. Most viral infections can run over a period of 5 to 7 days, sometimes longer and the fevers can get quite high. We usually allow the child 3 days or so to see if the infection will settle, which it may, if it is due to virus and if the child does not appear very sick. We may be more inclined to start antibiotics after day 3 of illness or if the child appears to be quite sick. This will be decided by your doctor. The overall reason about not being too fast in starting antibiotics is that too much unnecessary use of antibiotics generates drug resistance in the child ( if the illness is due to virus and not to bacteria) which makes future treatments more challenging. In the meantime, we are all aware that the day to day managing of a feverish child is exhausting and miserable for all. Hope this helps.