Acetaminophen & asthma in children
The things I find.
This one somewhat surprised me. "The use of acetaminophen in the first year of life is associated with an increased risk for asthma, eczema and allergic runny nose later in childhood, a New Zealand study reports."
The NY Times article is here.
After controlling for numerous factors, including breast-feeding, antibiotic use and parental smoking, they found that children given acetaminophen before age 1 had an almost 50 percent increased risk for asthma, eczema and allergy compared with those given none.
“We can’t be certain that acetaminophen is a cause,” said a co-author, Tadd Clayton of the University of Auckland. “We can only say that it is associated. People should continue to follow the recommendation of the W.H.O., which is that acetaminophen should be reserved for children with a high fever, 101.3 degrees or more.”
The study is large, but the medical information was obtained from parents after the fact, and children with asthma and related illnesses may be more likely to be treated with acetaminophen in the first place.
Glad they included the caveats. The study is large - 190,000 children 6 and 7 years old.
And it is true that what the connection may NOT be a causative one.
However, I've never been happy with overmedicating, and many parents engage in the practice. Sore throat? Tylenol. Crying? Tylenol. Teething? Tylenol.
That practice may be harmful.
Otoh, not medicating for some of those could be harmful, too, as parents stress out and smash the poor kid against the wall, or shake her until her crying stops and she dies. Too many parents don't understand that children are not miniature adults.
This one somewhat surprised me. "The use of acetaminophen in the first year of life is associated with an increased risk for asthma, eczema and allergic runny nose later in childhood, a New Zealand study reports."
The NY Times article is here.
After controlling for numerous factors, including breast-feeding, antibiotic use and parental smoking, they found that children given acetaminophen before age 1 had an almost 50 percent increased risk for asthma, eczema and allergy compared with those given none.
“We can’t be certain that acetaminophen is a cause,” said a co-author, Tadd Clayton of the University of Auckland. “We can only say that it is associated. People should continue to follow the recommendation of the W.H.O., which is that acetaminophen should be reserved for children with a high fever, 101.3 degrees or more.”
The study is large, but the medical information was obtained from parents after the fact, and children with asthma and related illnesses may be more likely to be treated with acetaminophen in the first place.
Glad they included the caveats. The study is large - 190,000 children 6 and 7 years old.
And it is true that what the connection may NOT be a causative one.
However, I've never been happy with overmedicating, and many parents engage in the practice. Sore throat? Tylenol. Crying? Tylenol. Teething? Tylenol.
That practice may be harmful.
Otoh, not medicating for some of those could be harmful, too, as parents stress out and smash the poor kid against the wall, or shake her until her crying stops and she dies. Too many parents don't understand that children are not miniature adults.