Dear Dr. Gwenn,

My child has an ear infection and started taking antibiotics yesterday. She had 2 doses yesterday, 1 dose this morning and will get 1 this evening. However, she does not seem any better. She is still very sleepy and will not eat or drink much. Why haven't I seen any improvement?

Signed,
Sandy

Dear Sandy:

The reason your child is not better is the antibiotics need more time to work. On average, it takes 48-72 hours on antibiotics to begin to see an improvement. After that time, if the antibiotic is not working, there are two reasons:

1. A different antibiotic is needed because the bacteria for this infection are resistant to the current antibiotic

2. The infection is viral. Antibiotics only work against bacterial infections and some ear infections in this age group are viral. In fact, as your child gets older, more of the ear infections will be viral than not.

Whenever a child is on antibiotics, it is important to call your pediatrician right away if you have concerns about improvement, especially if a child is getting worse. Some infants become dehydrated when sick and if your daughter is not drinking well, it is important to touch base with your pediatrician right away.

Keep in mind that I was able to answer this question very quickly but typically we have a 2-3 week turn around time in researching and posting questions. So, please don't wait on my answer to call your pediatrician. I'm happy to be the best resource I can for you but I'm not your child's actual pediatrician.

Best,
Dr. Gwenn

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About the Author
Pediatrician, Dr. Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe, MD, is a board-certified pediatrician and Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Gwenn is an experienced columnist, educator, and practicing pediatrician. Dr. Gwenn strives to write as if she were talking to a parent. As a parent herself, she knows how important it is to obtain information but also understand how precious little time parents have to find that information on the internet. Pediatrics Now was developed to fill that gap and provide a bridge between the parenting and pediatrics worlds.

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