Prescription medications are beneficial and are life-saving in many situations. However, most medications also have side-effects. Taking negative side effects into account when deciding to take a medication should be seriously thought out, and weighed against the positive effects. Often times people forget to leave medicine as a last resort in certain situations instead of a first option. Two of these times are with acid-reducing medications and antibiotics.
Acid-suppresive medications such as omeprazole, prevacid, zantac, prilosec, and nexium are available over the counter. So one would think that there is little to no harm in taking them for the discomfort felt with acid reflux. These medications are often given to infants, less than 6 months old without thinking of long-term side effects. When a baby vomits repeatedly or after every eating session, pediatricians may prescribe an acid-reducer medication. Along with these acid-reducing medications, antibiotics are over prescribed in the infant population when most issues are in fact a virus and not a bacterial infection.
A recent research article published in the Journal of American Pediatrics has found an association when acid-suppressing medicines and antibiotics are given to an infant during the first six months of their lives, allergic disease will develop later in life. Allergies reported with infants given these medications included asthma, allergic rhinitis, anaphylaxis, contact dermatitis, food allergies, medication allergies, and allergic conjuctivitis. Often times these medical issues can and will remain with that person for the rest of their life! These leads to a lifetime of more medications and medical issues, when alternative therapies could have been attempted to help with acid reduction.
Research supports chiropractic care to treat issues with the digestive system such as acid reflux and GERD in infants as well as children and adults. Medications should be a last resort after chiropractic care and diet modifications. Want to know more about how chiropractic care can help? Call us to learn more.
Yours in Health,
Dr. Nicholas J. Knutson
Owner/Doctor
MOUNTAIN ISLAND CHIROPRACTIC
10917 Black Dog Ln., Suite 101
Charlotte, NC 28214
Tel (704) 394-8556
Fax (704) 395-8556
"If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special." JV
Mitre, E, Susi A., Kropp LE, Schwartz DJ, Gorman GH, Nylund CM. Association Between Use of Acid-Suppressive Medications and Antibiotics During Infancy and Allergic Diseases in Early Childhood. JAMA Pediatr. 2018:172(6):e180315. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.0315
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