Parents may want to think twice about the medication they give to their babies. A recent Canadian study has found more evidence to support a disturbing link between antibiotics given to infants and the onset of asthma as children. The connection between antibiotics and asthma is not new , but it is has become increasingly clear that antibiotics given early on play a key role in the development of asthma in later life.

The significant study — over 12,082 children were involved — connects asthmatic kids to the antibiotics they were given when they were less than a year old. Antibiotics are often used to treat infant ear and respiratory infections as well as bronchitis.

According to the researchers from the University of British Columbia, babies who were treated with an antibiotic are twice as likely develop asthma during childhood than those who received no antibiotic treatment. The frustrating part of the findings is that in many cases antibiotics were not necessary.

"Current guidelines recommend that children under age two receive an antibiotic for diagnosed ear infection," said Fawziah Marra, co-author of the study in a BBC interview. "However, the majority of upper respiratory tract infections and bronchitis are viral, for which antibiotics are ineffective."

[via BBC]

Image: cachevalleyallergy.com