Chandigarh-based dietician Shreya's open letter about 'antibiotics for kids' recently went viral and she spoke exclusively to us about it.
Whenever our kids break into their first cough or cold of the winter season, we rush to get them antibiotics. Because lets be honest, we have incessantly been fed that antibiotics are their only remedy.
But, that is not really true.
In fact, most parents came to know of the harsh reality of 'antibiotics for kids' when an open letter by Chandigarh-based dietician Shreya went viral.
In her letter, Shreya writes that while it is painful to see a kid suffering from viral infections, antibiotics are not a solution. It’s not safe to give antibiotics when the disease is caused by virus.
Moreover, antibiotics leads to the body being antibiotic resistant, causing immunity to go down, she further added.
Why you must stop administering antibiotics on kids?
So we at theindusparent spoke exclusively to Dietician Sherya about her viral letter as well as the need for parents to shun antibiotics for kids.
Here's an excerpt from our exclusive interview with Dietician Shreya.
TIP: Why should parents avoid antibiotics for kids?
Shreya: Antibiotics are the most frequently prescribed medicines for kids. Although, antibiotics can save lives, most of the times they are over-prescribed and misused. You can’t cure every disease by merely giving antibiotics.
If someone prescribes antibiotics to kids for viral illness (other than bacterial), they are incompetent, and they can give a life-term effect to metabolism, gut microbiota, immune system, asthma, eczema, and allergies.
Antibiotic taken by mouth is absorbed in your gut, which enters the bloodstream and travels to all of your tissues and organs destroying a large variety of bacteria, which comprises numerous of beneficial microbes. Despite the area of infection, antibiotic affects the complete body and kills loads of valuable bystanders.
TIP: What are the side effects of using antibiotic on kids aged 2-3 years and above?
Shreya: There are many side-effects, but the long-term side effects caused by Antibiotics are: Antibiotic Resistance Metabolism and weight gut micro biota, gut bacteria influence, cut inflammation immune system asthma, eczema, and allergies. The short-term side-effects include rashes, allergic reactions, nausea, diarrhea as well as stomach pain.
TIP: What is the appropriate age for kids to start consuming any allopathic medicine?
Shreya: Nature has healing power to cure almost everything, so I don’t support the use of medicines completely. However, if the condition is critical or needs an immediate effect, then it can be used.
A large number of the population who were provided natural diets are living a healthy life. Most of the body and health problems are caused by unhealthy lifestyle followed by unhealthy diets. So if one wants to make a change in their health, the first step is to have natural and healthy foods.
Dietician Shreya also listed (as shared in her letter as well) three of the best home-remedies that work instead of antibiotics.
3 home-remedies that are great substitutes for antibiotics for kids
- Mustard oil: Heat mustard oil and add two to three cloves of garlic as well as a tablespoon of ajwain and mix it all together. Strain the oil and use it to massage your kid on his/her chest, back and neck.
- Ginger juice: Mix some freshly squeezed ginger juice (which has anti-inflammatory properties) and add one tablespoon of honey. Give this to your child twice a day. This is an effective remedy for cough, cold as well as infections.
- Vitamin rich diet: Any diet rich in vitamin C should be given in case of cold, cough and even fever. Also, make sure to feed your child khichdi, eggs, chicken soup, raagi sheera, bajra khichdi as well as lemon water and honey.
Remember, a healthy diet and intake of all-natural vitamin-rich foods can easily help your kid develop stringer immunity and fight back infections.
Also read:Doctors tend to prescribe too much antibiotics and narcotics, survey says