Early Antibiotic Exposure Might Cause Allergy

Exposing newborn babies to antibiotics could possibly increase their risk for developing allergies, new research suggested.

The data the study published in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics on Friday used came from the Department of Defense TRICARE health care program records. At least 800,000 beneficiaries born between 2001 and 2013 were analyzed.

By determining which children were given antibiotics -- penicillin, penicillin with B-lactamase inhibitor, cephalosporin, sulfonamide or macrolide -- within their first six months, researchers have observed that these children became diagnosed with various allergic diseases, including food allergies, asthma and dermatitis later on.

The lead author of the study, Dr. Cade Nylund, a pediatrician and a pediatric gastroenterologist at the Uniformed Services University in Maryland, said that he was surprised about this findings. He explained that the risk for food allergy will increase by eight percent, while 47 percent for asthma.

The risk varies depending on the type of antibiotics, the research also determined. Penicillin has the highest, while sulfonamides falls on the other side of the polar.

For this, Dr. Nylund suggested removing unnecessary prescription such as viral infections like common cold may halt the development of allergy. Antibiotics can't kill viruses.

Association, not a causal relationship

The study, however, is not without limitation: more research must be done to prove this.

Dr. Purvi Parikh from NYU Langone Health in New York explained that this is an association, not a cause-and-effect relationship. Meaning, antibiotics is not the exact cause but only has played a role in developing allergic diseases.

The development might have something to do with the changes in the gut bacteria since antibiotics are also known for killing not only the "bad" bacteria but also those who are helpful in our body, said Dr. Parikh, who is also a spokesperson for the Allergy and Asthma Network and is not involved in the study.

However, she did praise the study for being "helpful" in further proving that antibiotics can cause changes in our microbiomes, which in turn might cause various autoimmune diseases.

Parents should not be afraid to give their children this medication if they truly need it, but keep in mind that abusing antibiotics can lead to long-term consequences, she also added.

Danger of Antibiotic Misuse

Antibiotic has been an important medicine since it was discovered in the late 19th century. But before it was officially accepted by modern Science, earliest civilizations such as Ancient Egypt has been using various plant extracts and moulds as to treat wounds.

The benefits of antibiotics, especially on stopping highly contagious diseases, have been proven. However, we are abusing it too much that it was slowly taking a toll on the public health due to the rise of superbugs - bacteria that have gained immunity on bacteria-killing medicines.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention previously named five superbugs that play an "urgent threat" on the well-being of the United States.

Michael Craig, a CDC senior adviser on antibiotic resistance, warned that antibiotics are losing its effectiveness, and superbugs will not exempt anyone, even the people with strong immune system.

CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield suggested that rather than introducing stronger antibiotics, we should keep the medication away from the germs to cut their opportunity to adopt.

Aside from unnecessary prescriptions, the massive misuse on animals were also blamed for this threat. The CDC also reported that 20 percent of patients who got infected with superbugs got the germs from the food they ate.

Around 35,000 people died from superbug in the US every year.