Question

A provider has told a parent that a 3-year-old child has a minor ear infection and that an antibiotic would be prescribed in a couple of days if the child's symptoms worsened. The parent asks the nurse why the child cannot get an antibiotic today. Which response by the nurse is correct?

-"If the eardrum ruptures, we can culture the fluid to determine which antibiotic is best."
-"Most ear infections are caused by viruses, so antibiotics are not effective."
-"Most ear infections will resolve on their own without antibiotics."
-"Your child will develop tolerance to antibiotics if they are prescribed too often."

Answer 1

The correct response is that most ear infections in children will resolve without antibiotics, and unnecessary use of antibiotics can contribute to resistance, so they should be used judiciously.

Step-by-step explanation:

The nurse's correct response to the parent's question about why the child cannot get an antibiotic today for a minor ear infection should be: "Most ear infections will resolve on their own without antibiotics." Antibiotics are specifically designed to kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria, and many ear infections in children are viral in nature, which means antibiotics would not be effective. Moreover, prescribing antibiotics unnecessarily can contribute to antibiotic resistance, making it crucial to use them judiciously. It's important to wait and see if symptoms worsen because many ear infections can clear up without medical intervention, and using antibiotics only when necessary reduces the risk of developing resistant strains of bacteria.