Omnicef and night terrors

My 19 month old was hospitalized for 3 days with a high fever and all the symptoms that go with ...ie: body ache, fatigue, loss of appetite, dehydration. this took place after a 10 day amoxicillin course. In the hospital they started Omnicef via iv. after getting home he seemed to slowly get back to himself, with a few issues...waking up with "night terrors" cranky, loud, clingy, loose stools. his fever was down but not gone and his cough and runny nose seemed to be getting better. that is until today. we are 8 days into a 10 day with Omnicef and today his fever has returned (back up to 101 to 102) and his nose is running again. so 2 antibiotics down what next. between, all tests in the hospital came back negative until the blood culture came back and determined a blood infection. I am calling the hospital pediatric doctor in the morning to report on his repeat symptoms

my 2 1/2 yr old son took it for an ear infection because ammoxicillin gave him a rash, and the whole week on the medicine is when we first experienced night terrors. every night 3-4 times a night for the whole week. it was horrible.

It is now 2am and my 22 mo old has been on omnicef for pneumonia for 2.5 days...starting the night he took it he started waking up in the middle of the night just screaming - he does not get night terrors, this all started happening the exact night he started the medicine...he did it the next day when waking up from a nap as well and then again tonight. My husband is with him and I am searching the internet on this stuff - I have no doubt it's the medicine after reading these similar stories - and will be calling his DR in the morning. He has also had 8 runny diapers in the last 15 hours since starting it.

My 18 month old son has also had night terrors since starting Omnicef. He is usually a pretty relaxed little guy but if he does get upset about something we are able to calm him with cuddles, singing, distraction, etc. However, the last four nights (starting the first night he began the Omnicef) he has experienced constant, terrified screaming and can not be consoled no matter what we try. It is horrible to watch him suffer and not be able to help. It is especially hard since these episodes have lasted for more that an hour at a time. The timing of these episodes and the start of the medication was too coincidental that we did research on Omnicef at 3am last night after finally getting him back to sleep. None of the "official" Omicef information revealed anything about night terror side effects. My husband was insistent that the coincidental timing was too unlikely. So, he googled Omnicef and Night Terrors in the same search and lo and behold, he found this site with all these postings (as well as many other websites) from other parents with the same experience. I am convinced that this is a true side effect and that it should be included in the medicine's literature. For all those parents who have written about their skepticism because they have not experienced the same things, I suggest being thankful that their children have not suffered and recommend not simply dismissing the possibility of a problem with Omnicef because they have not experienced it first-hand.

My nine month old daughter was on Omnicef for one day and had red colored stools which we thought may be from the tylenol. She also broke out in a rash the second day (red bumps that looked like chicken pox) in a small area, so we watched it. The next day she had the bumps all over her trunk and head...they kept getting worse and multiplied until she was taken off of the medicine! They do worsen in the sunlight! We kept her in only a diaper for about four days and gave her an oatmeal bath and benadryl, and that helped. She also had night terrors where she would wake screaming and shaking which is very unlike her! She was taken off of the Omnicef by the Dr. and put on Zithromax which has been great!

My 3 year old was prescribed Omnicef for an ear infection. After the 1st dose he began waking at night with "Night Terrors". I called the doctor's office and they said that this was not a side effect and is common for this age. We continued to give him the medicine and his "Night Terrors" continued every night and every time he woke up from a nap. After the third day of Omnicef he started to become nervous and scared and not as nice as he usually was. He was afraid of the dark and did not want to go to bed. On the fifth day of medication he had 3 episodes of which he was so scared that he was screaming, and shaking and said he was "having a bad dream" but he was awake. I asked him what was in his dream and he pointed to the window and said "there is a monster out there". It was horrible! I called the doctor after the first episode and the nurse said that this was not one of the side effects and to continue the medicine. However, my husband and I decided not to give him any more Omnicef. We told the nurse that we didn't care if it wasn't a side effect and that it was too coincidental that this started exactly when he started taking Omnicef. The doctor would not call in a different antibiotic but said 5 days of Omnicef should be enough for his ear infection and he will see our son in three days for a recheck. Today was the second day without Omnicef and our son seems to be getting back to his normal, happy self. He did not have any scary visions while he was awake today and tonight was the first night that he wasn't afraid to go to sleep. I only hope that it did not do any permanent damage. I think more research needs to be done on the side effects of this medication and I am going to try to contact the makers of Omnicef. I feel that if my sons mental and mood changes are a side effect then it needs to be researched before it happens to any other child. I will never let any of my children take Omnicef again.