Antibiotic Use in Child's First Year May Increase Asthma Risk

Apparently antibiotics destroy not only disease-causing microbes, but they also kill those that are helpful to the developing immune system. A new study has found that the use of antibiotics in the first year of a child's life is associated with an increased risk for asthma at age 7. Researchers found that one or two courses of antibiotics in the first year of life increased the risk of asthma by about 20 percent. The more frequent the antibiotic use, the higher the risk. Three to four courses of medicine conferred a 30 percent added risk, and more than four courses of antibiotics increased the risk of asthma by almost 50 percent.

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