Antibiotics for respiratory conditions

Antibiotics for respiratory conditions

It can sometimes be difficult for your child to cope with a chest infection for this long. Read our tips on how to treat chest infection in children to help relieve some of your child’s symptoms. For children in particular, there may be conflicts of information between the manufacturer’s patient information leaflet (PIL) and guidance provided by GOSH and other healthcare providers. For example, some manufacturers may recommend, in the patient information leaflet, that a medicine is not given to children aged under 12 years.

  • You should see a doctor if you cough lasts longer than 3 weeks or if your fever lasts longer than a week.
  • These are usually self-limiting and will go away by themselves.
  • If you do not have a copy of the manufacturer’s patient information leaflet please talk to your pharmacist.
  • Stopping smoking while you have bronchitis can also be the perfect opportunity to quit altogether.
  • Make sure your child knows to cover their mouth when they cough and throw away any used tissues straight away to prevent further spreading of their chest infection.

You have regular blood tests to check for any changes in the way your liver is working. This drug can cause inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis). Tell your doctor straight away if you have sudden and severe pain in your tummy (abdomen). Blood clots can develop in the deep veins of your body, usually the leg.

Growth problems in children

This is why it is important to give a phlegm sample when you notice things changing, so that your doctor knows which antibiotics would be best for you to have. You can then start a course of antibiotics without having to wait for the results. Often antibiotic choice will be guided by what bugs you have had in the past or which antibiotics have worked best for you in the past.

  • You can read Jill’s story here about how removal of her spleen now leaves her partly immunocompromised and anxious about developing resistant infections like bacterial pneumonia.
  • You can make small lifestyle changes to strengthen your immune system and help prevent this deadly disease.
  • However, it can sometimes be difficult to pin down the cause of infection in young children as their condition can change rapidly.
  • Your child may require physiotherapy to help remove secretions from their chest or to help produce a cough.
  • Acute bronchitis usually requires no medical treatment, as antibiotics do not work on viral infections and even if there is a bacteria cause the body can clear the infection itself most of the time.

Sometimes children may require oxygen therapy to help them breath more easily
Children who are unable to maintain their fluid intake due to breathlessness, fatigue or vomiting may require fluid therapy. A supported sitting position may help to expand the lungs and improve breathing in children who have respiratory distress. It can be tempting to ask for antibiotics ‘just in case’ because you want to get rid of your symptoms. But it’s important that you only take antibiotics if you really need them.

Side effects of cancer drugs

Whilst there are no known cures, some home remedies and lifestyle intervention strategies have successfully alleviated bronchitis symptoms and overall severity. COVID-19 is a disease caused by the new coronavirus, SARS-COV-2. As it is a viral infection, antibiotics https://meizitanghealthslim.com will not cure the infection, however COVID-19 can cause secondary bacterial infections. Therefore, you may be prescribed antibiotics if your healthcare team think you have a bacterial infection in your lungs (like bacterial pneumonia) in addition to COVID-19.

You can also use the app to access the latest safety information from the MHRA about medicines and medical devices on the Newsfeed. Search for medicines to see details of Yellow Card reports others have made. Medicines of interest can also be added to a Watch List to receive news and alerts about new side effects and safety advice as it emerges. We have produced a patient sheet to help healthcare professionals to discuss the new measures and actions patients should take.

The cough from a chest infection is usually the last symptom to go and could last up to three weeks, even after treatment. If you find you’ve still got a cough after your chest infection has cleared up, this might be a sign that your airways are still inflamed, so it’s worth seeing your doctor. Excessive and prolonged alcohol misuse can weaken your lungs’ natural defences against infections and make you more vulnerable to chest infections. Pneumonia is usually treated with antibiotics and supplemental oxygen if the illness is severe.

It has been suggested that steroids may be effective in treating bronchitis. However, the evidence is conflicting, and insufficient in scale, and the current conclusions have coupled the use of steroids with other medications. Therefore, studies on the use of steroids alone must be conducted.

How is pneumonia treated?

If the results show a new bug or a bug that will not be treated by the antibiotics you have started, your doctor may prescribe a different antibiotic. This will lower the chances of you having an asthma attack caused by your chest infection. A doctor can often diagnose pneumonia based on the symptoms and by checking your chest.

When to see a GP about chest infection in babies?

You should contact your advice line urgently if you think you have an infection. Your healthcare team may give you a small card to carry with you while you are taking steroids. This is so that anyone else treating you, such as your dentist or in an emergency, knows that you are on steroids.