by Claudia Boyd-Barrett posted in Parenting

It's not uncommon for doctors to prescribe antacids and antibiotics to babies. But a new study suggests these medications may increase kids' risk for developing allergies if prescribed before 6 months old.
Researchers analyzed health records for nearly 800,000 children born between 2001 and 2003. About 8 percent of the children were prescribed an antacid during their first 6 months of life, and about 17 percent received antibiotics during this time.
Over the next 4 and a half years, allergies and asthma rates rose sharply among kids prescribed antacids and antibiotics as babies compared to children who did not receive such medications, according to the findings published in JAMA Pediatrics.
Children who took antacids had double the risk of developing a food allergy, and a 50 percent higher risk of developing an allergy to pollen or having anaphylaxis (a severe allergic reaction, often to peanuts or bee stings).  
Antibiotic use appeared to double the risk for asthma and increase the risk for pollen allergies and anaphylaxis by 50 percent, the study found.
The study doesn't prove these medications cause allergies and asthma, only that there is an association between the two. However, the link seems strong, the researchers noted.
Allergies may develop because the drugs interfere with healthy microbes in the body, disrupting children's immune systems, the authors suggested.
Of course, in some cases babies may really need antib...