Childhood Asthma Linked to Antibiotics

A study published in CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), “reports that children receiving antibiotics in the first year of life were at greater risk for developing asthma by age 7 than those not receiving antibiotics.” The investigators followed over 13,000 kids from birth to age 7, monitoring their health.

These folks were very smart too; they distinguished between children receiving antibiotics for respiratory and NON-RESPIRATORY ailments, and took note of other factors “including gender, urban or rural location, neighborhood income, number of siblings at age 7, maternal history of asthma, and pets reported living in the home.” So the results are extremely valid.

Science Daily has a great in-depth explanation of the results. Some highlights:

…absence of a dog during the birth-year doubled asthma risk among children taking multiple courses of antibiotics.

…children receiving more than four courses of antibiotics [had] 1.5 times the risk of asthma compared with children not receiving antibiotics.

…asthma at age 7 was almost twice as likely in children receiving an antibiotic for nonrespiratory tract infections compared with children who did not receive antibiotics.

Some antibiotic alternatives:

Colloidal Silver

Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE)

Garlic

Honey

Tags: antibiotics, asthma, children, Health, Medicine, pets