PART TWO:
ANOTHER REASON TO AVOID THE USE OF ANTIBIOTICS



Individualized Care in a Warm
and Supportive Environment
 
 

Dear Parents,

We are all aware  of the golden age of medicine, and the miraculous decrease in infectious diseases over the last hundred years.

Much of this has been due to the development of antibiotics.

The use of antibiotics, comes with many benefits as well of side effects as well.

Many of us already know that  the natural flora in our gut which develops in the first day of life, especially among breast fed infants, contributes to a strong immune system.

Likewise, even the careful use of antibiotics in appropriate circumstances  may contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance , and the overgrowth of harmful bacteria and yeast.

Just about 1 year ago, I wrote to you about a  then, new study  in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), which linked antibiotic  use in the first 2 years of life, with the subsequent increased incidence of obesity in  early childhood (ages 24-59 months). Obesity in early childhood may lead to obesity as an adult and contribute to the development of a myriad of associated illnesses.

Now, a Dutch study recently presented at the European Respiratory Society,  has shown a link between early childhood antibiotic exposure and the later development of allergy.

Children who received antibiotics before age 2 had a 15%- 41% higher risk of developing eczema and a 14%-56% increased likelihood of developing hay fever ( seasonal allergic rhinitis), later in life. The findings, based on a review of 44 studies involving more than 650,000 patients with with eczema, hayfever, or both, also showed a greater risk for both conditions among those who received two courses of antibiotics.
Please check out this link for more information
CBS news 09/07/2016

It is not uncommon for a pediatrician to diagnose a probable viral infection in early childhood;  one may question the withholding  of the use of antibiotics, or using a simple first generation antibiotic rather than the use of a newer and more powerful drug.

I am proud that my practice has some of the lowest rates of antibiotic use in the area, and hope to continue to partner with parents to continue to use antibiotics only when it is absolutely necessary to do so.



Feel free to contact me with any of your questions and any of your other pediatric needs.