Why won't you call in an antibiotic?

Less is more: First, i'm a fan of "less medicine is better medicine." second, calling in an antibiotic is like shooting a shotgun out your back door at night because you heard a noise: you might hit a prowler, but you also might hit your neighbor's child. Antibiotics aren't harmless & can actually cause more trouble if not given just right. I want to know what i'm treating before i'll prescribe anything.

Less is more: Not every fever is a bacterial infection, which is what antibiotics are used to treat. If i feel that a child has a bacterial infection that would benefit from antibiotics i will use them, but antibiotics should not be used to simply treat fever.

Not a good practice: A lot of people think that when their child has a fever, he needs an antibiotic to "cure it". The fact is fever is most commonly caused by viruses, and the condition usually goes away in a few days. Antibiotics only treat bacterial infections, and your pediatrician needs to see your child to determine what kind of infection he might have first.