Watch out! Too many antibiotics are prescribed to children from 0 to 4 years old and it is not good for your health

A report from Public Health France claims that antibiotic prescriptions are on the rise for children aged 0 to 4. 700 prescriptions per 1000 inhabitants were recorded in 2021. This is not safe for young children.

“Antibiotics are not automatic”. This slogan from a 2009 Social Security spot remains more relevant than ever. Too many antibiotics are prescribed to young children, warns Public Health France, in a report published on Wednesday. About 700 prescriptions per 1,000 inhabitants were made in 2021, indicates the report unveiled by the Parisian.

For ten years, the consumption of antibiotics has been falling steadily in France. The abandonment of barrier gestures after the two confinements due to Covid-19 and the return of winter infections have restarted the prescription of antibiotics, in particular in children aged 0 to 4 years. This is why the Health Insurance launched a new communication campaign on October 8 with a new slogan: “Antibiotics, good treatment, it is first of all to use them well”.

Harder-to-treat infections

Because the clichés have a hard tooth. 77% of French respondents think that antibiotics are effective against acute bronchitis, 65% against bronchiolitis or 53% against the flu. Antibiotics fight bacteria, not viruses. Angina cannot be treated with antibiotics. A simple test can determine the origin of angina.

Taking antibiotics too often is not without danger. “If you take it too regularly, you end up with infections that are much more difficult to treat,” explains the Parisian infectiologist Pierre Tattevin. Some bacteria will survive and multiply in the digestive tract but also have consequences on the flora. This risk is called antibiotic resistance.

Parental pressure

Doctors, for their part, sometimes have to deal with pressure from parents. “The pressure from parents can be strong. We believe, wrongly, that antibiotics cure all infections”, explains to our colleagues Anne Berger-Carbonne, microbiologist doctor at Public Health France. “Doctors also prescribe it too systematically to fragile people when they have a doubt about the origin of the infection, for fear of complications”.