Extended Breastfeeding and Medication

Visitor Question: My question is does medicine excreted in breast milk affect an older child more than an infant? The reason for my question is .. I had to go to the emergency room for an abscess tooth .

The doctor said the only medication that would work for the infection was cleocin. I explained that I was breastfeeding a 13 month old child and he just said well then quit.

Well it is not that easy to just quit. So the Dr. refused to give me any other medications and gave me a shot of cleocin and sent me home.

So now I am stuck I breast feed my son in the middle of the night and he is 27lbs and 13 months old.

Does anyone think he was affected that much and what should I do about the medicine?

Breastfeeding Magazine Response: First of all, it was VERY irresponsible of this doctor to both react that way and also to give you the drug anyway without helping you understand it. Personally, I would complain to the hospital.

As far as the medicine, there is little known about the effects of this particular drug on a breastfeeding toddler, but it is considered to be fairly safe in usual does even for a small infant. If there is an effect, it would probably be very mild. In very rare cases, a child has an allergic reaction, but that would have appeared by now.