Diseases in childhood sometimes cannot be cured without antibiotics. However, these drugs have many side effects, so when an antimicrobial agent is prescribed to a child, parents are interested in how to reduce its negative effect on the child's body and what to do if the antibiotic has affected the baby's digestion.
Why are antibiotics dangerous?
Long-term use of antimicrobial drugs, especially in high doses, can adversely affect the health of the child. It can lead to:
- Digestive disorders.
- Weakening the immune system.
- Allergies.
- Eczema or dermatitis.
- Liver dysfunction.
- Kidney damage.
Why is microflora restoration necessary?
Antimicrobial agents, after entering the bloodstream, spread throughout the body in order to overcome the causative agent of a bacterial infection. But, getting into different organs, antibacterial drugs also affect their work. First of all, they affect the colonies of beneficial bacteria that are normal in the baby's body in the intestines.
When the number of useful flora decreases, an imbalance (dysbiosis) occurs. It manifests itself as problems with the work of the digestive organs. The child begins to digest food poorly, diarrhea develops, there may be bouts of vomiting or constipation.
The permeability of the intestinal wall increases, which is one of the factors in the appearance of allergic reactions. As a result, the baby develops a rash. At the same time, the harmful flora begins to multiply in the intestines, which adversely affects the baby's immunity.
Bowel recovery methods
The restoration of the digestive tract must be taken care of from the very beginning of taking antibiotics. If the baby is breastfeeding, it is recommended to cancel complementary feeding and exclusively breastfeed for the period of treatment. Older children should be fed at a minimum - give food to the baby according to his appetite, but better in less quantity. But the child should have enough drink. In some cases, children are shown additional use of enzymes.
After completing the course of antibiotics in infants, breast milk remains an important means of restoring bowel function. It is rich in a special bifidus factor that promotes the colonization of the baby's digestive tract with useful flora. If, before the illness, the baby has already begun to get acquainted with complementary foods, after infection it is recommended to postpone the return to the usual menu.
The emphasis on restoring the balance of microorganisms should be on nutrition, not drugs. Food during the recovery period should be given in small quantities. During this time, the child should not be offered excessively fatty foods.
Easy-to-digest meals are recommended. To restore the flora in the intestines, you can also give the crumbs live bacteria in the form of preparations of the probiotic group after antibiotics. The fact that the microbial flora has recovered, the mother will notice by the normalization of the stool and the general condition of the child.
Recovery of the body as a whole
In the restoration of the liver and other internal organs of the baby, a large role is also assigned to the nutrition of the child. In the diet, the crumbs should not be fried and very fatty. All food is processed for the child with gentle methods - it is cooked, stewed, steamed. The kid should receive fermented milk products and vegetables every day.
The daily routine is no less important for successful recovery. It is necessary to organize the day of the baby so that the child gets enough sleep, walks a lot, receives a charge of vivacity from light physical exertion (morning exercises, outdoor games and gymnastics are recommended during the day).
Contact with other children within 5-7 days after antibiotic treatment should be limited to eliminate the risk of catching the virus in a still immature organism.
E. Komarovsky's opinion
The renowned physician is confident that antibiotics should be prescribed only when necessary. In this case, the drugs that are given to young children, Komarovsky calls low toxic. Since they are almost always prescribed for a short period, children, according to the popular pediatrician, do not need any treatment after the use of antibiotics.
Those digestive disorders that often appear after antibiotic therapy, Komarovsky connects with the desire of mothers to feed a sick child in any way. A well-known doctor also notes that there are drugs with a specific effect on the intestines, but this effect cannot be eliminated with the help of any drugs.
Komarovsky recommends after antibiotic therapy:
- Do not force the baby to eat.
- Do not give your child too fatty foods, especially those rich in animal fats.
- Feed the children according to their appetite.
- Do not overfeed your baby.
In these cases, there will be no need to treat digestive disorders. Komarovsky considers probiotics to be harmless drugs, but he is sure that such funds have no evidence-based effectiveness.
As for the restoration of immunity, then, according to the famous pediatrician, it is impossible to do this with the help of drugs. After antibiotic therapy, it is only important for parents to protect the child from new infections until his body recovers on its own after illness and treatment.
Possible problems
Allergic reactions are a fairly common negative effect of antibiotics. However, taking antihistamines at the same time as antimicrobials should not be taken. This will muffle the allergy and the baby will receive several doses of the medication causing the reaction before the mom detects the allergy. If the child has reacted with an allergy to an antibiotic, the remedy should be canceled. At the same time, the mother must remember the name of the medicine so that it will no longer be prescribed in the future.
Allergic manifestations can also occur after the completion of medication, as a reaction to dysfunction of the digestive tract. Treatment in this case consists in proper nutrition of the baby - as soon as the intestines recover from the illness, the allergic reaction will also pass.
Antibiotic therapy can cause candidiasis in a baby. Most often, the fungus affects the mucous membrane in the baby's mouth. Treat such manifestations of a fungal infection under the supervision of a physician.
