Antibiotic Use and Asthma Link For Children

This article is an interesting expose and speaks about the higher incidence of asthma in children who had been treated with antibiotics, usually for ear infections, during their first year of life. Research results so far point to twice the incidence of asthma in children who have had antibiotics during the first year of life.

We don't mean to recommend that antibiotics not be used for young children, but want to make sure that parents are being cautious and judicious with their use even when recommended by physicians. Ear infections can be caused by bacterial or viral infections. Antibiotic therapy will have no therapeutic effect for infections that are viral based. Make sure to ask your physician for more information about a prescription to make sure that it is really needed especially when treating very young children.