The trend lately has been not to treat children with antibiotics unless absolutely necessary. Although this seems obvious, in the past pediatricians and family doctors often prescribed medication at the first sign of a fever or ear infection. Now we wait and find a majority of kids do get better without antibiotics.
One of the reasons has been to prevent resistance. Recently there has been much research on the microbiotome or bacteria that naturally grow in our intestines. These may contribute to obesity as well as some auto-immune diseases when disturbed.
In a study of 12,000 children in Finland, where all medical records are available for these types of research, use of antibiotics was significantly related to obesity after the age of two. The worst antibiotic was macrolides (erythromycin and zithromax), and the association was higher if the child was given antibiotics before 6 months of age.
So listen to your doctor, and don't use antibiotics unless absolutely necessary!
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