Your child’s doctor may prescribe amoxicillin, if your child has a bacterial infection. This drug helps to stop the growth of certain types of bacteria and can be used to treat a number of bacterial infections. Some of the infections that can be treated using amoxicillin are as given below:
- Nose
- Ear
- Skin
- Throat
- Urinary tract
To be noted, amoxicillin can only be used to treat bacterial infections. The drug cannot be used to treat infections caused by viruses like common cold. You can get it in various forms, including tablet, chewable tablet, capsule, powder for liquid suspension. We will discuss about the dosage of the drug, it’s side effects and also about its overdosage in the following article.
Amoxicillin Dosage for Kids
When your child will be prescribed amoxicillin, his/her doctor will also recommend you the dosage. The dosage of the drug will be decided by your doctor based on a number of factors, for instance taking your child’s age and weight into consideration, the type of infection they are treating etc. this will differ from person to person and so will the dosage. You should be sure to give your child the exact dosage as recommended by the doctor, nothing less or more than the prescribed amount.
In case, the dosage is given incorrectly, it can lead to several problems. This may end up giving absolutely no results. Not only this, but the infection could get worse and may also appear to come back later. Apart from this, the antibiotic may not work to treat the infection because the bacteria may eventually develop resistance to the drug.
As discussed earlier, it is important for you to give your child the entire course of treatment as prescribed b y the doctor. This will help to prevent the infection from occurring later in the future. You should thus keep giving amoxicillin to your child till the time the infection is cured completely.
Amoxicillin Over dosage for Kids
Yes, it is vital to complete the entire course of medication as prescribed by the doctor but taking too much of this drug can surely have harmful effects in your child. Kidney damage or kidney failure are some of these effects. This is why you should follow the exact dosage instructions provided by the doctor.
In case your child has taken more than the prescribed amount of drug, call your doctor immediately, you can also call your local poison control centre. If the symptoms of your child tend to get severe, immediately make a call at 9-1-1. Your child may show the following symptoms in case of overdosage:
Amoxicillin Side Effects
Every drug has some certain side effects and warnings. You should ask your child’s doctor any questions about the drug right away. Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are some of the most common side effects of amoxicillin.
Apart from this, there are some serious side effects of amoxicillin. If your child shows any of these symptoms, you should take your child to the nearest emergency room or call 9-1-1. Some of the serious side effects of amoxicillin are a listed below:
- Watery and Bloody Stools: this can occur with or without stomach cramps up to two months after the last dose of the drug.
- Severe Allergic Reaction: symptoms like swelling of the tongue and throat, swelling of the hands, trouble breathing, swelling of the feet and other body parts may also show up
- Unusual bleeding and bruising
- Brown, yellow or grey staining of the teeth
- Severe skin rash
- Whitening of the eyes and yellowing of the skin (sign of liver problems)
If your child has been prescribed amoxicillin, it is extremely important for you to follow the instructions laid by your doctor carefully. Give the exact dosage of the drug as had been prescribed by the doctor. This will help in the effective treatment of your child’s disease and will also prevent the infections from occurring later in the future. if you have any questions about amoxicillin, you may ask your doctor right away.
You should tell the doctor openly about any other medications, herbs or vitamins your child is taking at that point of time or has taken earlier in the past. Make sure that you also include over the counter medications as some of these may interact with amoxicillin, which can prevent the drug from working effectively. Some of these drugs are listed below:
- Certain types of hormonal birth control pill
- Probenecid
- Antibiotics such as minocycline and doxycycline
