NEW DELHI : A child burns with fever, a parent panics, and somewhere between the thermometer and the doctor’s room comes the familiar demand: “Please give an antibiotic.” It sounds harmless, but it is not. In fact, the paediatric outpatient department may be one of the earliest places where antibiotic resistance quietly gets a foothold.
Dr Manish A Balde, Consultant Paediatrician and Neonatologist, Motherhood Hospitals, Gurgaon, said, “Not every fever needs an antibiotic.” However, many families still find difficult to accept that antibiotics fight bacteria, not viruses. Common childhood illnesses such as colds, influenza and many viral fevers usually settle with time and supportive care.
He further added that unnecessary antibiotic use does not make a viral illness disappear faster. Instead, repeated or inappropriate use gives bacteria opportunities to become resistant. That can turn a routine infection in the future into a much harder battle.
The truth is that parents often want a medicine because doing something feels better than waiting. But sometimes, waiting is treatment. A paediatrician who says “no antibiotic” is not doing less for the child. Quite possibly, they are protecting the child’s future health.
10 things parents should know before asking for antibiotics
Fever is a symptom, not a prescription
A raised temperature tells us the body is responding to something; it does not automatically tell us bacteria are responsible. Viral infections are common in children and often improve without antibiotics.
Antibiotics cannot fight viruses
Antibiotics are designed to kill or control bacteria. They do not work against viruses causing ordinary colds, influenza and many viral fevers, so giving them unnecessarily offers no shortcut.
The quick-fix habit can backfire
When antibiotics are used without need, susceptible bacteria are killed while resistant ones survive. Over time, those resistant bacteria can make genuine infections more difficult to treat.
Feeling better does not mean stopping early
If a doctor prescribes an antibiotic, parents should follow the prescribed course and instructions. Stopping treatment early without medical advice can contribute to treatment failure and resistance.
Leftover medicine is not a family remedy
An old prescription belongs to an old illness. A similar-looking fever today may have an entirely different cause, so leftover antibiotics should never become a household shortcut.
Stronger antibiotics are not automatically better
Parents sometimes believe a powerful antibiotic will work faster. It may instead expose a child unnecessarily to side effects while increasing pressure on bacteria to develop resistance.
The gut also pays the price
Unnecessary antibiotics can disturb the useful bacteria living in a child’s gut. This may lead to problems such as diarrhoea and other unwanted effects, besides the wider resistance risk.
Supportive care is still real treatment
For many viral illnesses, recovery needs patience rather than a prescription. Fluids, rest, appropriate fever care and observation can matter far more than an unnecessary antibiotic.
Trust the paediatrician’s “no”
Parents naturally want action when their child is unwell. But a doctor refusing an antibiotic is not dismissing the illness; they are choosing treatment based on its likely cause.
Protect tomorrow’s medicine today
Antibiotics are precious because they can treat serious bacterial infections. Using them only when genuinely needed helps preserve their effectiveness for the child, the family and the wider community.
