Myth 1 - A green or yellow runny nose means that your child has a sinus infection and needs antibiotics.
This is usually not true. A sinus infection is commonly defined as having a green or yellow runny nose that lasts for more than 10-14 days without improvement. Many other infections caused by viruses can also cause a green runny nose, but unlike a sinus infection, these infections will not respond to an antibiotic.
I think most parents understand the difference between an infection caused by a virus and an infection caused by a bacteria, and that only bacterial infections respond to antibiotics. But many believe the myth that a green runny nose means a sinus infection, which can lead to your child taking antibiotics unnecessarily. So remember that while a green or yellow runny nose does mean that your child has an infection, unless it has been lasting for more than 10-14 days, then it is probably just a cold that will get better on its own. And it is not because your child will likely get better on his own that antibiotics aren't used for viral infections, instead it is because they just don't work on these types of infections.
Next > A fever is bad for you.
(c) 2001 by Vincent Iannelli, M.D. (http://pediatrics.about.com), licensed to About.com, Inc. Used by permission of About.com, Inc., which can be found on the Web at www.about.com. All rights reserved.
|
