Are your kids
getting sick too often?
Week 3: Fast Medicine
Who wouldn’t want to get rid of an ear ache or chesty cough immediately? We all like the idea of getting well faster. In our culture where pretty much everything can be served up fast, we might even feel we aren’t keeping up if we don’t opt for “Fast Medicine”.
By Fast Medicine I mean using pharmaceuticals to relieve a symptom — “band-aid” solutions. This would include many popular drugs from cortisone to Ritalin. But here’s the catch: we know we aren’t treating the cause. And worse, the treatment may actually have unintended long-term effects.
The Allergy Example
Consider allergies as an example. Australia has one of the highest allergy rates in the world with up to 40% of Australian children having signs of allergies.
A leading risk factor for children with allergies is having a mother with allergies (with a father slightly less so). Children born into allergic families more commonly develop allergic diseases (a 50–80% risk) like food allergies, eczema and asthma compared to those with no family history (a 20% risk).(4) A significant genetic component is at work here.
But something else has been found to increase risk just as much as a mother who has allergies: the use of antibiotics in the first 2 years of life.
Startlingly, evidence found the use of oral antibiotics in the first 2 years of life increases the risk of future allergies as much as having a mother who is allergic.(5) This is a potentially life altering outcome from a course of antibiotics! This and other studies support the theory that early antibiotic use affects our immune system in the long term.
Use of oral antibiotics in the first 2 years of life increases the risk of future allergies as much as having a mother who is allergic.
What can parents do?
There is plenty of pressure to make the right decisions for your child, and little benefit in regretting any past decisions. It is heartening to see many parents are looking beyond the vast range of medications on offer, keeping drugs for emergencies and looking further into the causes of an illness wherever possible.
I hereby give permission to pause and ask if we really need to give that drug right now or is it just Fast Medicine?
Next Week in Are Your Kids Getting Sick Too Often
Week 4: My Top Immune Health Tips
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Larn Lau Bland is an independent Naturopath, and is not paid to endorse any brand or product. Larn’s practice, Natural Balance, is located Melbourne, Australia.
Header photo by Albert Comper Photography.
References
4. ASCIA Position Statement: Summary of Allergy Prevention in Children, as published in the Medical Journal of Australia 2005; 182 (9): 464–467 http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/182_09_020505/pre10874_fm.html
5. Prof J. Warner, Food Allergy and Intolerance — Current Issues and Concerns, Letterhead Publishing, Cambridge, 2002, p.8 (Lectures from “Food Allergy and Intolerance 2001 — Current Issues and Concerns, London 2001).
6. Johnson, Christine Cole et al. Antibiotic exposure in early infancy and risk for childhood atopy, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Volume 115 , Issue 6 , 2005, pp.1218–1224
