Penicillin

• This important antibiotic is used in the treatment of many infections
• It is given to babies with breathing problems for the first 48 hours of their stay in the Neonatal Unit
• Penicillin is often given with Gentamicin as they work very well together
• After 48 hours, if blood cultures show an infection sensitive to penicillin, the treatment will be continued for several days
• If your baby remains unwell, the consultant may decide to keep him on penicillin, even if the blood cultures have not shown an infection
• Your baby’s nurse will inject the penicillin into a cannula
• Penicillin is given
  • 2 times a day in babies up to 1 week old
  • 3 times a day in babies between 1 and 4 weeks old
  • 4 times a day in babies over 1 month old
• Side effects are extremely rare and include skin rash, diarrhoea and redness around the cannula where it has been injected
• It is very rare for a baby to have a reaction to penicillin even where mother has a history of allergy to the drug