A recent study revealed excessive use of antibiotics may increase the risk of developing asthma and allergies in children.
Antibiotics disrupt the immune system of kids during an essential stage of child development.
Exposure to antibiotics before the age of 2 is linked with a 24% increased risk of asthma and a 33% raised risk of food allergies in later childhood.
Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, lead researcher Dr. Daniel Horton stated:
“Antibiotics play a critical role in combating bacterial infections, but physicians should be judicious when prescribing antibiotics to children under 2, as frequent use may affect long-term health outcomes.”
Researchers diligently monitored the health of more than one million kids in the U.K., comparing initial antibiotic treatment to their later risk of allergies and asthma.
Previous research has indicated that early and repeated antibiotic use can disrupt the immune system as a child ages, increasing the risk of allergies.
While monitoring the children through the age of 12, researchers discovered that they were at significantly higher risk of asthma and food allergies if they previously had been exposed to antibiotics.
Infants exposed to antibiotics had a 6% increased risk of seasonal allergies.
However, the researchers further mentioned that antibiotics are essential and life-saving drugs sometimes, but not all infections in infants are required to be treated with antibiotics.
However, researchers discovered no impact from using antibiotics on the risk of autoimmune disorders such as celiac disease or inflammatory bowel disorder.
