Antibiotics are often vital to family wellness, but they may be putting your child’s wellbeing at risk of eczema. This is according to a new study, published in the British Journal of Dermatology, which found that the use of antibiotics in the first 12 months of life may increase your child’s chance of developing eczema by up to 40%. Moreover, your child’s eczema risk increases by 7% with each additional course of antibiotics.
For the study – which was carried out by researchers from the University of Nottingham, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, and the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary – the researchers examined data from 20 existing studies. All of this previous research had investigated the association between prenatal and early exposure to antibiotics, and the subsequent development of eczema. The results of the study revealed that children with eczema had often been treated with antibiotics in the first year of life, but not while still in the womb.
One of the study’s authors, Dr Teresa Tsakok of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, commented, ‘One potential explanation is that broad-spectrum antibiotics alter the gut microflora and that this in turn affects the maturing immune system in a way that promotes allergic disease development.’ Senior author, Dr Carsten Flohr of King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’, noted, ‘A better understanding of the complex relationship between antibiotic use and allergic disease is a priority for clinicians and health policymakers alike, as determination of a true link between antibiotic use and eczema would have far-reaching clinical and public health implications.’
According to Nina Goad, of the British Association of Dermatologists, ‘Eczema is our most common skin disease, affecting one in every five children in the UK at some stage and causing a significant burden to the patient and the health service. Allergic diseases including eczema have increased over past decades, particularly for children in high income countries, but the causes for this are not fully understood. The evidence is not conclusive and the researchers are not suggesting that parents should withhold antibiotics from children when doctors feel such treatment is necessary, but studies like this give an insight into possible avoidable causes and may help to guide medical practice.’
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