Norwegian children still use less antibiotics

Antibiotics.Photo: Gorm Kallestad / SCANPIX .

The use of antibiotics among children has fallen sharply in the last five years. This has been made apparent by figures from the Prescription Register.

 

The figures show that the decline has been almost 30 percent from 2012 to 2017, according to P4 reports.

“The development has been very positive. It’s quite formidable, and children tend to use it more than adults,” says Ketil Størdal, chairman of the Norwegian Children’s Association.

He believes clear and good guidelines for treatment is the solution. One example is the treatment of ear inflammation.

“Most ear infections go just as quickly without antibiotics, and antibiotics are unnecessary,” he says. He stresses that sensible use of antibiotics is important for several reasons:

“First and foremost because some antibiotics, especially for respiratory infections, are not necessary and can have side effects for the individual child,” he says.

In addition, unnecessary use can lead to more resistance among bacteria, which will mean antibiotics no longer work when we actually need it.

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today

1 Comment on "Norwegian children still use less antibiotics"

  1. That’s very positive news indeed. Especially when new antibiotics haven’t been discovered for tens of years.

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