My son is very prone to 'upper respiratory tract infection'?

My son is very prone to 'upper respiratory tract infection' which now seems to respond only to antibiotics. Is it right to give him so much of antibiotic medication?

Upper respiratory infections are nothing to mess with. If he needs antibiotics to get rid of the infection, by all means, give them to him!

Until your child turns 5 years, about 10 upper respiratory tract infections per year are not a cause for worry. I would recommend antibiotics for such episodes only if they are associated with fever, cough or a yellow discharge from the nose.

If it is the only way to cure this condition, then use it. Make sure that you are using up all the medication given in the prescribed manner. Don't save any antibiotics. SOme people do and this is a big problem.

i'm a nurse grad. before when we had our "intern" (for nurses) i'm always assigned to patients with URTI, and the med given to them is called cefuroxime..it's an antibiotic..but it would be better to consult a doctor before you taking antibiotic (because chances are - it would make bacteria resistant in antibiotic if not taken in the right dose and number of days) hope i was able to help you

My self being a mother and in medical profession will advise you not to worry so much unless your child is having fever, coughing is so severe that he is vomiting or yellow green think discharge is coming out of his nose or sputum is also thick and yellow.
Having 5-6 time URTI is not uncommon for child of under 8 this is the way they also build up immune. Its become more frequent when they start kindy or school.
Giving antibiotic is not so much problem but make sure you finish course properly usually antibiotics are 5-7 Days course and you should finish the course regardless he has recovered or not. It is okie to treat with antibiotic but cough syrups and warm salty water gargle does also help.

are you from india? in case ,if you are please try this very old remedy of my father , which is used by the sufferers to-day also only two teaspoons powder twice a day will cure the cough, cold, pulmonary fluid problem, and also cronic sinus problems within 30 days you can get rid of all the problems if you are interested try to my mail i.d malivisu@yahoo.co.in

It is right to do it, but be aware of the complications with the gut. With a lot of antibiotics, overgrowth of unfriendly bacteria and yeasts in the gut can occur and it can go "systemic".
Prevention is a good thing and I would suggest seeing a naturopath to see about the prevention of this. It can be with diet and a number of other things.

RESISTANT GERMS---A Global Menace :
- How Great Is the Menace?
- Those Resilient Germs---How They Rebound ...
http://www.watchtower.org/e/20031022/art...

It is recommended that one replenish intestinal probiotics (which are killed by taking anti-biotics), every time. Here are some articles about probiotics & health:

Health benefits of probiotics 7/05
(includes respiratory infections!)
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/food/...

Functional Foods Fact Sheet:
- Probiotics and Prebiotics
http://www.ific.org/publications/factshe...

Food for Thought, (May 20, 2006):
- Bacteria Can Keep Their Kin in Check,
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/2006...

According to this, a viable supply of a variety of probiotics makes one much more resistant to infection. However, one must avoid or use Very Little, the things that kill them, such as sugar & starches (refined foods), & chlorinated water, & other chemicals.