Pediatricians write more than 10 million unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions every year for conditions such as the flu and asthma. This new study in the journal Pediatrics finds that is contributing to potentially dangerous drug resistance.
In total, doctors prescribed an antibiotic at one in every five visits, with most dispensed for children under 18 during 2006 to 2008.
Almost one quarter of all antibiotic prescriptions were given to children with respiratory conditions that probably or definitely do not call for antibiotics, illnesses such as bronchitis the flu, asthma and allergies.
