Infant paracetamol linked to asthma increases

[Sammiejane]

This was on the news last night and DH asked me to look it up today to see what i though.
I found the comments underneath the article on the link Very interesting...
Heres the body of the article

Infant paracetamol linked to asthma increases

By New Zealand correspondent Kerri Ritchie

Posted Fri Sep 19, 2008 11:47am AEST

New Zealand researchers have found that giving children paracetamol in the first year of their life significantly increases their risk of developing asthma.

The asthma study was the biggest ever undertaken and involved 200,000 children in 34 countries.

They found that babies given paracetamol in the first year of life were 46 per cent more likely to develop childhood asthma and the risk was three times higher for children who are regularly given the painkiller.

The study also found paracetamol increased the chances of developing eczema and conjunctivitis.

The study's authors do not want families to stop using the drug, but they say parents should only use paracetamol when it is really needed, and should not overuse it.

The research has been published in the British medical journal, The Lancet.

And here is a link so you can see the general discussion below
Infant paracetamol linked to asthma increases - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Thoughts anyone?

[~Kate~]

This freaked me a little bit at first because with DD teething I use Dymadon all the time. I try to only use it when needed but can't be sure all the time if its actually warranted. I'm not going to panic but am going to be more caution with use for sure.
Will be interested to see how this pans out...

[dusty]

Thanks for posting SJ. I found this related article on the UK's Independant Newspaper with a few more details. The line that caught my eye was

The authors of The Lancet study, Professor Richard Beasley of the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand and colleagues, stress that they have established an association not a cause.

Independent.co.uk
Paracetamol given to babies is linked to global rise in asthma

By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor
Friday, 19 September 2008

The global rise in asthma over the past 50 years, which has mystified doctors for decades, may be linked to the growing use of paracetamol, researchers suggest today.

A major international study, involving more than 200,000 children in 31 countries, has found those treated with paracetamol in the first year of life had a 46 per cent increased risk of developing asthma by the age of seven.

The risk was up to three times higher among children who were the heaviest users of the drug, indicating a strong dose-dependent link. The study, published in The Lancet, adds to a growing body of evidence linking the painkiller with the disabling lung condition. Eczema and rhinitis were also increased. Previous research has linked asthma with exposure to paracetamol in the womb, infancy, childhood and adulthood.

A study by the Global Allergy and Asthma Network of 1,000 people, half of whom had asthma, found the incidence of the condition was increased threefold in people who used the drug weekly. The results are published in the European Respiratory Journal.

Paracetamol came into widespread use in the 1950s and sales have grown rapidly since. In the UK, 580 million tablets were sold in 2001-02. Paracetamol replaced aspirin as the painkiller of choice in children because of concerns about Reye's syndrome, a potentially fatal condition linked with aspirin.

The growth of the asthma epidemic started in the 1950s and the numbers affected in the UK approximately doubled every 14 years until the 1990s. There are around five million people with the condition in the UK. In 2005, more than 70,000 people were admitted to hospital with asthma attacks and 1,318 died.

The leading theory to explain the rise has been the hygiene hypothesis ? that as we lead cleaner, germ-free lives and are exposed to fewer illnesses in childhood, our immune systems are underdeveloped and over-react when exposed to allergens such as house dust mites and cat hair. But this does not account for the increase in asthma in places remote from the developed world.

Paracetamol sales, by contrast, have grown worldwide in both developed and developing countries. Some researchers claim a link between local paracetamol sales and the incidence of asthma. The drug is thought to suppress production of the antioxidant glutathione in the lungs, leading to inflammation when exposed to allergens.

The authors of The Lancet study, Professor Richard Beasley of the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand and colleagues, stress that they have established an association not a cause.

"Paracetamol remains the preferred drug to relieve pain and fever in children... [However] it should not be used routinely but should be reserved for children with a high fever (38.5C or above)," they say.

Critics say the infections for which the paracetamol was given may have triggered the asthma rather than the drug itself. Professor Glenis Scadding, a consultant allergist at the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital, London, said: "It may be that the actual cause is recurrent viral colds."

Specialists say research to confirm the findings is urgently needed.

Advice for parents

* Paracetamol and other drugs should not be used routinely in children but reserved for when they are ill.

* In most cases a child with a mild fever will get better. Doctors say they often prescribe drugs to reassure the mother rather than treat the infant.

* Tepid sponging to keep the child comfortable and reduce temperature is the first line of treatment.

* If the child is in discomfort, pain or has a fever above 38.5C, treat with paracetamol.

* High fevers in babies and young children can cause febrile convulsions and have serious consequences.

[Sammiejane]

Thanks Dusty for the additional information.

I think that the concern is more for the people that choose to use Pandaol or paracetamol to help settle a child or as a preventative before immunisations.

Aside from this finding, Many people think that pandaol is a 'safe' drug as it is a mild painkiller and i know adults that will frequently exceed the daily limit with panadol thinking that it will help. What they fail to realise is that the clearance of the drug by the liver is the slow and by giving additional doses can actually contribute to liver damage.

Heard of people taking a box of panadol to kill themselves (usually more as a dry for help) well these people have no idea how their lives will change, a perminent liver diet is incredibly boring and the hepatitis that results is no fun.

Personally i use panadol extremely sparingly, none during pg and MJ has had it once when she had a temp of 38.5 and was vomiting after immunitations...
I am not however suggesting that parents should not use Panadol or similar to treat high fevers and discomfort
Sorry thats a bit off topic, but thought i would throw it in.

[dusty]

I think that the concern is more for the people that choose to use Pandaol or paracetamol to help settle a child or as a preventative before immunisations.

I know family members that do this as a first resort and that is what worries me. In addition we have a family history/predisposition to asthma.

Critics say the infections for which the paracetamol was given may have triggered the asthma rather than the drug itself. Professor Glenis Scadding, a consultant allergist at the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital, London, said: "It may be that the actual cause is recurrent viral colds."

This is interesting information as well. I wonder with the increasing incidence of asthma in modern society whether there is just a big combination of factors, including exposure to more pollutants, diseases spreading further due to increased and easy accessibility to travel, avoiding germs and hence not developing resistence etc etc.

One thing I am taking from this is to not jump in and use paracetamol as a first resort for an unsettled child without determining whether there are other factors causing the unsettled behaviour.