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What Causes Drowsiness And Excessive Thirst After Having Antibiotics?

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Posted on Mon, 22 Dec 2014
Question: My 12 month old has been on 3 different antibiotics the last 3.5 weeks for strep (2 times) and a double ear infection. He is on the 6th day of the third antibiotic and still averaging a 99.5 temp. He is also sleeping a lot (13+ hours at night), and seems to be excessively hungry and thirsty for the last week. He is drinking about 30 oz of milk, eating 3 big meals, and a snack. He seems very irritable and just not himself. Any advice?
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Answered by Dr. Eric Goldstein (43 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
Antibiotics

Detailed Answer:
Hello. I just read through your question. Strep is very uncommon in children under the age of 2 years. Ear infections, however, can happen. The fact that he has such a strong appetite is a good sign.
It is unusual that 3 courses of antibiotics haven't cured the infection. It makes me suspicious that something other than ear infections might be going on. This could be something like an undetected viral illness, or even recurrent viral illnesses. I would consider doing a simple blood test, namely a complete blood count (CBC), to determine if something like that is going on. The blood count could give us a clue as to the cause of the fevers. Until then, it would be difficult to speculate as to what the root of the problem is.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Eric Goldstein

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Practicing since :1999

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What Causes Drowsiness And Excessive Thirst After Having Antibiotics?

Brief Answer: Antibiotics Detailed Answer: Hello. I just read through your question. Strep is very uncommon in children under the age of 2 years. Ear infections, however, can happen. The fact that he has such a strong appetite is a good sign. It is unusual that 3 courses of antibiotics haven't cured the infection. It makes me suspicious that something other than ear infections might be going on. This could be something like an undetected viral illness, or even recurrent viral illnesses. I would consider doing a simple blood test, namely a complete blood count (CBC), to determine if something like that is going on. The blood count could give us a clue as to the cause of the fevers. Until then, it would be difficult to speculate as to what the root of the problem is.