Thanks to the reader who wrote:

“It is a shame more parents don’t know about the affects of dyes and flavorings on children. I ran into this problem with my son when he had constant ear infections. Unfortunately for him, all of the antibiotics came with dyes and flavorings to make them palatable. What happened was that I thought he was allergic, but really it was a reaction to those additives. The pharmacists were sympathetic, but their hands were tied. We had to endure hyperactivity, wetting the bed sometimes, and a completely different child until he reached the age where he could take pills/capsules without the extra junk. I would never have known about this had another parent experienced it as well and passed the info on to me.”

I know, I know. Pass the word. So many of these reactions are particular to the constitution of the individual child. But here’s a study that implies very young children develop skin rashes less often after antibiotic use when the antibiotic is uncolored and dye-free.