The Journal of American Medical Association for Pediatrics recently published an article regarding the safety of administering antibiotics to infants prior to the age of 6 months in relationship to allergic diseases.
In the study, scientists looked at 792,130 children that were given either an antibiotic or an acid suppressive medication within their first 6 months of life. The study concluded that indeed, there was an increase of allergic diseases as the child developed.
This is truly a reason to supplement our children with excellent probiotics from the beginning and breast feed, if possible, for as long as possible and to incorporate good nutritional habits early on and to seek alternative and natural support for common childhood ailments.
The long list of allergic type of diseases that are associated with this study include the following: presence of food allergy, anaphylaxis, asthma, atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, urticaria, contact dermatitis, medication allergy, or other allergy.
I personally was a child that received multiple antibiotics early in childhood and surgery for multiple ear infections. I have had a life long constipation issue and allergic symptoms that I contribute to this early intervention of medical treatment.
I grew up with allergies and had many tympanostomies. A tympanostomy is a surgical procedure in which an Otolaryngologist, an Ear, Nose, Throat, physician, surgically implants a tube in the eardrum in order to keep the ear drained of fluid and ventilated. Since my experiences, I have had conversations with pediatricians that claim this procedure is thankfully no longer done in multiples.
I had 7 of these procedures prior to the age of 12, and then had a tympanoplasty to repair the hole created from all of these procedures. Today, I still have a hole in my eardrum because the tympanoplasty was unsuccessful. The reason that physicians initially used the tube placement method was so the child didn’t undergo hearing loss. In my case, I still have decreased hearing even though I went through all of these experiences.
Did the tympanovstomy work? You tell me.
I have spent YEARS correcting the microbiome (good bacteria) in my GI tract from these early interventions.
I am writing this as a warning to please consider the alternative, natural treatment of ear infections prior to submitting your children to this type of treatment that the American Medical Association for Pediatrics is reconsidering.
The natural way that I have found to help correct the microbiome is through the use of probiotics and other fermented foods. I also eat a diet rich in whole foods with a wide variety of colors. These foods are full of flavonoids, the natural pigment that gives the plant their color, that are high in antioxidants and cell protecting properties.
I advocate a diet free of dairy and other inflammatory foods such as processed foods (including anything in a box). Wheat is another inflammatory food that I encourage people to cleanse from their diets. We should focus on eating foods that have one ingredient, such as the foods that are found in nature, to feed our bodies as God intended.
Since we live in America, I try and create a balance for my children, since the processed food industry is strong and my children are constantly marketed to with processed foods. The children that I work with realize that they feel better when their diets include more whole foods and less
processed foods. They notice a difference when they eat processed food versus when they consume whole foods.
Education is key at an early age, and the earlier we encourage our children to eat a variety of whole foods, the more natural it will become as they grow up. It is never to late to start!
Do you know anyone that suffers from any of these medication-related diseases? Could this have happened to them? Contact me today to learn more about how to support the body naturally.
