Question

The nurse is teaching the parents of an infant with tonsillitis about the importance of compliance with antibiotic therapy. What teaching regarding the cause of tonsillitis would be important to share with these parents?

Answer 1

The nurse could share with the infant's parents that tonsillitis is likely to happen again and again as the infecting bacteria gain resistance to the antibiotic. The nurse could explain that by not using of compliance with antibiotic therapy, the user would be only eliminating the bacteria that were the least resistant and die first, leaving behind the other bacteria more persistent. This phenomenon would create a selection of the most resisting bacteria making hard to tackle another subsequent infection that would for sure reappear later. This way, the nurse would help them be compliant with the antibiotic therapy while helping improve the infant's health.