(NaturalPath) According to a study out of the University of South Carolina and published in the journal Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology, antibiotic treatment within the first year of life may wipe out more than an unwanted infection: exposure to the drugs is associated with an increase in food allergy diagnosis. The researchers looked at data from a two-year period, from 2007-2009 and found 1,504 cases of children with food allergies and 5,995 controls without food allergies, already accounting for birth month and year, sex and race/ethnicity. Through their analysis that included conditional logistic regression and accounting for other factors such as birth, breastfeeding, asthma, eczema, maternal age and urban residence, they found that children prescribed antibiotics within the first year of life were 1.21 times more likely to be diagnosed with food allergy than children who hadn’t received an antibiotic prescription. Also, the risk increased with the number of prescriptions issued.
One researcher noted, “We need better diagnostic tools to help identify kids who truly need antibiotics. Overusing antibiotics invites more opportunity for side effects, including the potential development of food allergies, and can encourage antibacterial resistance.
They are now attempting to see if their results would hold up over a larger patient population.
Watch out if your young child is being given unnecessary antibiotics, to potentially save them from a food allergy diagnosis.
Razi Berry, Founder and Publisher of Naturopathic Doctor News & Review (ndnr.com) and NaturalPath (thenatpath.com), has spent the last decade as a natural medicine advocate and marketing whiz. She has galvanized and supported the naturopathic community, bringing a higher quality of healthcare to millions of North Americans through her publications. A self-proclaimed health-food junkie and mother of two; she loves all things nature, is obsessed with organic gardening, growing fruit trees (not easy in Phoenix), laughing until she snorts, and homeschooling. She is a little bit crunchy and yes, that is her real name.