How Antibiotics Could Alter the Child’s Mind and Body Development
The lesser-known health risks of antibiotics in children.
Although antibiotics use has decreased overall since the early 2000s, it is not the case for respiratory diseases. In the US, it is estimated that antibiotics were prescribed to one-fifth of children’s medical visits, of which 50% were broad-spectrum (usually macrolide), and over 70% were for respiratory diseases.
Antibiotics only kill bacteria, not viruses. Yet both bacteria and viruses can cause respiratory illness. So, about 29% of antibiotics given for respiratory disease in children are unnecessary, which comprises over 10 million visits per year in the US. “Broad-spectrum antibiotic prescribing in ambulatory paediatrics is extremely common and frequently inappropriate,” said a 2011 national study in the US. In 2016, the CDC reports that one in three antibiotics were given needlessly.
Unnecessary antibiotics are not only improper in the context of superbugs pandemics but come with health risks as well, especially in children. The gut microbiota is undergoing rapid changes in infancy and childhood. Antibiotics, especially broad-spectrum ones, tend to wipe out beneficial gut microbes. Not to mention that children’s brain and physique are also experiencing sensitive growth phases.
