Paracetamol linked to asthma in children

Mothers! this one is for us! found it and had to share, caution is the watch word.

Babies who are given paracetamol medicines such as Calpol are more likely to develop asthma by the time they go to pre-school, researchers have found.

The more often it is given in the first year of life, the more likely they are to develop the breathing problem, according to academics from the University of Copenhagen.Calpol is a paracetamol-based drug used to treat pain and fever in children

The study, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, adds to evidence of a potential link between giving paracetamol to young children and developing asthma.

However, the researchers say it does not prove cause and effect.

Professor Hans Bisgaard, senior researchers, said parents should only use paracetamol when necessary, such as when a child had a high temperature, but added: “We would like to stress that the use of this drug indeed is beneficial in the appropriate circumstances.”

He and his colleagues looked at 336 children, whose health was monitored from birth to the age of seven.

All the children had mothers with asthma, which meant they themselves were at a higher risk than normal of developing the condition.

By the age of three, 19 per cent had asthma-like symptoms, but those who had been given more paracetamol as a baby were more likely to display these signs.

Specifically, for each doubling of the number of days in which paracetamol was administered, there was a 28 per cent increase in asthma risk by three years of age.

But the researchers cautioned that the children who ended up developing asthma could have simply been sicker babies, meaning they needed to have paracetamol more frequently.

They said: “We think it is too early to conclude a causal relationship, but the findings should encourage further research into a plausible biological mechanism.”

Malayka Rahman, from Asthma UK, said: "This research adds to what we already know, that there does appear to be a link between paracetamol and asthma.

"There is some evidence to suggest that increased use of paracetamol may lead to an increased risk of experiencing asthma symptoms such as wheezing or a tightness in the chest, however at this time the evidence is not conclusive.

"When used according to the manufacturer’s directions paracetamol is a safe and effective treatment for pain and fever so we continue to advise people that the benefits of using paracetamol far outweigh the risks."