Two Out Of Three Babies Receive Antibiotics By First Birthday

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Two Out of Three Babies Receive Antibiotics by First Birthday

 

 

Two out of three infants receive antibiotics before they turn one

year old. By the age of two, three out of four children have received

the drugs, according to recent research.

 

These findings are especially concerning as resistance to common

antibiotics is becoming an ever increasing problem. Deaths caused by

Staphylococcus aureus, the so-called superbug that is resistant to

most antibiotics, are reportedly increasing.

 

Moreover, research from a new study has shown that children from low-

economic backgrounds are more likely to receive antibiotics than

those from more well off families, and boys tend to receive

antibiotics earlier than girls. Low-economic background might be a

factor because people from this group tend to have higher rates of

respiratory illness due to smoking and a lower likelihood of breast-

feeding.

 

The study investigated how young children are when they receive

antibiotics and evaluated patterns of antibiotic resistance among

people aged zero to 40 years.

 

Records for all children born in Tayside, Scotland during 1993 showed

that by the age of one year 63 percent of infants had needed

antibiotics, 75 percent by the age of two. Exposure to antibiotics

was highest during the first two years of life, and decreased

steadily thereafter.

 

In terms of antibiotic resistance acquired through exposure to drugs,

resistance increased with age up to six years, then declined until 20

years of age, then increased with age, according to researchers.

Whether exposure to antibiotics at an early is an important factor in

the development of antibiotic resistance remains unknown.

 

Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy December 2002;50:1085-1088

 

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Dr. Mercola's Comments:

This is a sad but true article. The medical establishment has

convinced American parents that they need to run their babies to the

doctor at the first sign of a fever. This does not make sense, as a

fever is actually a good thing.

 

High fevers are especially good as they are far better than any

immunization at building an authentic, life-long immune response.

When we suppress these fevers with Tylenol we can cause far more harm

than good.

 

To add insult to injury, parents give their children antibiotics that

do absolutely nothing for the viral infection and do everything to

upset the fragile bacterial microenvironment in their child's

intestine.

 

It is no wonder that so many of us are sick as we grow up. Most of us

are fed grains rather than vegetables, and then we are assaulted by

well-intentioned, but nevertheless very harmful, rituals that nearly

guarantee a major health challenge down the road.

 

These medical " traditions " result in problems from allergies to

recurrent ear infections and tube placements in the ears to drugs for

attention deficit disorder.

 

Many traditional medical circles now accept the hygiene hypothesis,

the idea that children who experience frequent infections and

inflammations in early childhood will strengthen their immune systems

and be less prone to allergies and asthma than children who rarely

experience such infections.

 

Unfortunately, the hypothesis hasn't penetrated the population

rapidly enough to prevent the inevitable health traumas resulting

from the antibiotics given to our infants.

 

Related Articles:

 

Fever in Children - A Blessing in Disguise

 

Anti-Fever Drugs May Prolong Flu

 

Most Parents Clueless on How to Treat Fevers in Kids

 

Hygiene Hypothesis of Asthma

 

If Your Kids Are Too Clean They Can Get Asthma and Eczema

 

The Reason for Childhood Diseases