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Giving children antibiotics when they get ear infections doesn't do much to speed their recovery. What's more, it raises the risk of side effects.
A study found that 80 out of 100 children, if given only medication to reduce pain or fever, would recover from an acute ear infection within a few days. If they were given antibiotics instead, the number would rise only to 92 -- and 3 to 10 of the children would develop a rash, while 5 to 10 would develop diarrhea.