pExcerpted from "Allergy and Asthma Report 2001", March 2001 issue DISCOVER magazine:/p
p"A declining exposure to infections early in life has been proposed to be one mechanism accounting for the increased prevalence of allergy. Certain studies have shown an inverse association between allergic disease and the exposure to infections such as tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis A. In addition to such microbial pathogens, the principal drive for maturation of the immune system in the infant has also been recognized to be through stimulation via indigenous microflora which colonize the young child's gastrointestinal tract. Some studies have also indicated that increased antibiotic use in human infancy may be associated with an increase in developing allergies./p
pSince antibiotic use usually depletes the normal microflora, it is of interest to speculate that such a depletion of microflora by antibiotics may be responsible for the increased risk of developing allergies. To address this issue further, Oyama and colleagues (J Allergy Clin Immunol; January 2001) studied the effects of an antibiotic on the balance of T cells known to promote allergic responses. Interestingly, when they fed infant mice antibiotics there was an increase in IgE levels and T cells known to cause allergy."/p
p[This message has been edited by arachide (edited March 26, 2001).]/p
Early use of antibiotics promotes allergies
Posted on: Sun, 03/25/2001 - 4:12am
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-just refreshing the thread for the weekday crowd
Bumping up for AnMaMc.
Thats interesting! DD was on antibiotics the moment she was born. I've often wondered if that had something to do with her allergies.
Just the opposite here- dd was never on antibiotics til AFTER the diagnosis of MFA and eczema.
I'm with Corvallis' mom on this. I wondered if they considered that the increased mucus production from allergies, combined with viruses of course, is what causes so many allergic kids to be on frequent antibiotics. Therefore, maybe they should consider limiting the allergens early. I'm sorry, I got carried away, but I just keep thinking I wish my children's pediatricians had told me more.
That seems to contradict the theory that if they get sick early, they're less likely to get allergies because the immune system has something to do.
My PA son has been on antibiotics twice in his whole 6 1/2 years - and never before he was diagnosed allergic to peanuts.
The theory definitely does not hold true in my family.
Rita
Thanks for bringing this up. My DS was on antibiotics his fourth day of life and it continued periodically till he had tonsils and tubes at age 5. Periodically means at least once a month!
No wonder huh?
Peg