My 8 month old baby has a mild inflammation in his left lung. The doctor prescribed him an antibiotic but another doctor said that if he has no fever, he shouldn't take antibiotics. I am confused.
Time and again large scale literature reviews have concluded that the majority (up to 80%) of respiratory infections in children is of viral cause. The reason why we prescribe antibiotics in a child whose symptoms do not subside within a few days is that we're afraid of a bacterial infection on top of the already existing viral infection (with a viral infection the immune system gets exhausted from fighting the virus and thus is weak, so it's easier to catch a bacterial infection a that time).
In the case of your baby, the fact that there's no fever, in addition to his age (a most likely viral etiology of respiratory infection), and his vaccination status (by 8 months of age he must have already received vaccination against the major bacteria known to cause respiratory infection, in enough doses, so he's immune to them), I would refrain from giving antibiotics in the absence of fever or alarming signs (difficulty breathing, abnormal lung sounds. poor feeding, lethargy, decreased urine output)
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