Antibiotics shouldn’t be given to children as a preventative measure to try to avoid another urinary tract infection (UTI) for kids who have already had one infection, as it’s unlikely to prevent another UTI and also contributes to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.
“UTI symptoms can be unpleasant for the child and worrying for parents, so it’s understandable that doctors and parents want to do whatever they can to prevent the child having to experience another infection once the first one has cleared up,” said Prof Boudville.
“But the evidence shows that, once the first infection has resolved, giving further antibiotics to your child ‘just in case’ they get another UTI is actually likely to do more harm than good.
“Not only are the ‘just in case’ antibiotics not likely to stop them from getting another UTI, but taking antibiotics when you don’t really need them can contribute to antibiotic resistance, meaning antibiotics may not work for any future infection, whether a UTI or another type of infection,” he said.
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