Antibiotics linked to huge rise in allergies

[Monique]

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99995047"

The increasing use of antibiotics to treat disease may be responsible for the rising rates of asthma and allergies. By upsetting the body's normal balance of gut microbes, antibiotics may prevent our immune system from distinguishing between harmless chemicals and real attacks.

"The microbial gut flora is an arm of the immune system," says Gary Huffnagle at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbour. His research group has provided the first experimental evidence in mice that upsetting the gut flora can provoke an allergic response.

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99995047"

Previously clean house holds and diet were blamed, where people growing up in a farm are less likely to develop asthma. This is the first experimental confirmation that antibiotics in fact play a role too. I guess you need to drink a lot of bacterial fortified yoghurts after an antibiotic treatment to reestablish a healthy microflora :)

Did anyone hear about how worms have been show to aleviate symptoms of inflamatory bowel disease? Apparently we don't carry enough parasites with us either.. They recently have started clinical trials on humans, giving them worm eggs to eat.. also a good thing to combat obesity :)

 

[adrenaline]

It's probably why kids who are in daycare also have far fewer asthma and allergy problems versus those who stay at home in a squeeky clean environment. (In a New england journal study in 2000 http://www.healthcentral.com/drdean/deanfulltexttopics.cfm?ID=40243&storytype=DeanTopics ) due to the exposure to germs and other kids dirt. However, since these kids also get sick a lot and get antibiotics prescribed inappropriatly, I wonder how this confounding variable doesn't affect the study results since it would go against what you stated (I'd have to look at the study carefully). There have been other studies that show increased rate of asthma in kids who are in daycare before 4 months of age ( I assume it's due to acquiring RSV infections etc is higher and residual after effects include asthma)
Also, breast feeding in the first three months of the child's life seems to be protective since we aren 't presenting too many milk allergens to the child's underdeveloped immune system and digestive tract. My daughter is protected hopefullly since I breast fed her 9 months and my husband can't stand staying indoors has her out playing in (and therefore eating dirt) all the time.