Even in 2005 the first studies on sensible drug use were being conducted. Today there is proof that if you wait before using an antibiotic for otitis, in most cases a child will get better on his own, making for considerable health and economic benefits

Italian version

Those who follow our website know that using an antibiotic as therapy for a form of otitis media is left as a last possible resort. The world of natural cures offers a considerable amount of alternative therapies for otitis.

Our stance on this issue gains comfort from an article published on Pediatrics in 2005 (McCormick DP et al, Pediatrics 2005 Jun;115(6):1455-65). This article discusses how the criteria of withholding antibiotic use and observing the progress brought about the resolution of the otitis within the same time as for a child treated with pharmaceutical therapy.

In view of the new article published on JAMA in the past few days(Spiro DM et al, JAMA 2006 Sep 13;296(10):1235-41), there is all the more reason for waiting to give antibiotics for the treatment of otitis media, even when a patient is visited in the emergency room.

The principle here is to wait and see if a spontaneous resolution of the problem occurs. The result is that, without any difference in the outcome of the illness in terms of length and symptoms, with the "wait and see" principle as many as 62% of the children didn't take antibiotics and avoided the problems associated with their use.

Just in the past few days, the recommendations for the systematic use of antibiotics, even as winter illness prevention , are running up against undeniable scientific evidence to the contrary.

We hope that this tendency to reflect upon the cautious use of drugs will continue.

Italian version