Baby Acetaminophen linked to asthma

[zipzapgirl]

We just saw this article the other day linking acetaminophen usage in babies and pregnant women to asthma occurrance later in childhood.

http://www.webmd.com/asthma/news/20080918/baby_acetaminophen_tied_to_asthma

Some statistics from the article below.

The study shows:

A 46% increased risk of asthma at ages 6-7 years in kids who got acetaminophen for fever in their first year of life.
A 48% increased risk of runny nose and red, itchy eyes at ages 6-7 in kids who got acetaminophen for fever in their first year of life.
A 35% increased risk of eczema at ages 6-7 in kids who got acetaminophen for fever in their first year of life.
A threefold higher risk of current asthma symptoms in 6- to 7-year-olds who took acetaminophen at least once a month compared with those who did not take the drug.
22% of severe childhood asthma is linked to acetaminophen use during the first year of life.
38% of severe childhood asthma is linked to acetaminophen use later in childhood.
It says that asthma rates rose in all countries in the same time period that acetaminophen rose in those countries.

So, DS is going for another round of shots on Friday and I am weighing whether he should take Advil/Ibuprofen or just suffer through. Last time he cried and cried until an hour after the acetaminophen dose--it was hard If I had known this, I would never have given it to him.

The advice I've read on ibuprofen says it is not advisable for less than 6 months, but I'm not sure if that's just the "official" advice or something they just don't or won't study. I'd appreciate some advice on the risks, especially from relevant medical studies or medical professionals.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

I read this article too and had a lot of questions about it myself. Now, I'm no medical professional, so my thoughts are worthless...

My 20 month old son has had a lot of respiratory issues. His pediatrician diagnosed him with asthma and wanted him on Flovent for maintenance and albuterol as needed. This article freaked my husband and me out because we have given him a lot of baby Tylenol (used homeopathic teething tablets a lot more with our first but couldn't get our son to take them). We took him to a very highly recommended pediatric pulmonologist and asked about it- his response (not sure he'd read the article though) was that he would take it with a grain of salt for now b/c you can link a lot of things to asthma- obesity, reflux, etc.

Who knows...it may turn out to be a true causation, right? Then I'll feel guilty, though the pulmologist said our son doesn't have asthma right now and he doesn't think he'll develop it later either. Then again, my son has severe peanut and tree nut allergies while no one else has food allergies, so who knows where these things come from.

I didn't think you were supposed to give pain reducer (can't remember if it's Tylenol or Advil or both) before shots- something about reducing the efficacy perhaps??

 

[zipzapgirl]

Logan Sapphire - just did some research and you are right about the suspicion that pain killers may reduce the efficacy of vaccines. Here is the study:
http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/Vaccines/16458

It specifically studied acetaminophen, but doesn't rule out similar effects for other painkillers.

So maybe DS just has to suffer through...I'm glad we took a late afternoon appointment now.

 

[qtiekiki]

LS - I don't know that having those respiratory issues now means your DS will have asthma. It can, but our pedi and a couple of my friends' pedi and allergist said that kids can grow out of those issues and not have asthma. My DD (she is 3.5 now) was wheezing for the first time in Nov, and then again during Christmas. She was given steroids (solution/pills) and albuterol inhaler to get rid of the wheezing both times, and is now on Flovent for prevention. Our pedi said to use it until March to get over the cold/flu season. We just found out my DS (will be 2 next month) is also wheezing this past tuesday, so he is currently taking steroids and the albuterol. Pedi said he won't prescribe Flovent for him unless he wheezes again another time. Anyways, fingers crossed that our kids don't have asthma.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

LS - I don't know that having those respiratory issues now means your DS will have asthma. It can, but our pedi and a couple of my friends' pedi and allergist said that kids can grow out of those issues and not have asthma. My DD (she is 3.5 now) was wheezing for the first time in Nov, and then again during Christmas. She was given steroids (solution/pills) and albuterol inhaler to get rid of the wheezing both times, and is now on Flovent for prevention. Our pedi said to use it until March to get over the cold/flu season. We just found out my DS (will be 2 next month) is also wheezing this past tuesday, so he is currently taking steroids and the albuterol. Pedi said he won't prescribe Flovent for him unless he wheezes again another time. Anyways, fingers crossed that our kids don't have asthma.

How old is your son? Do you have any other pics of your kids? They look adorable (from your avatar) and remind me of my own little scamps!

Do you have to use the pedi-chamber for your daughter's Flovent? My son tolerated it for awhile and now it's back to having to hold him down to use it.

We thought the pediatrician's diagnosis was a bit premature so that's why we saw the pulmonologist. He said that while DS' lungs/airwaves were damaged, it didn't seem to be permanent, thank goodness. I do wonder if he's allergic to more than just peanuts/treenuts (we only had him tested for nuts).

Hope your kids' wheezing gets under control!

 

[qtiekiki]

My son is 23 months. I have tons of pictures of my kids, just not at work.

Yes, we are using the opti-chambers for the inhalers. DD was ok with the mask over her face; she put it over her face herself. She didn't liked it when I pumped the albuterol, and pulled away or held her breath the first few times. Then she got used to it, and is fine with it now. When I tell her that we are going to use the "pump pump", she just sits up and let me do it. She is 3 years and 5 months old (I think a bit older than your DS). We used the opti-chamber on DS yesterday for the first time. He didn't want it near him at all, kept saying no. Finally got him to let us put it over his face, and he freaked when I pumped the albuterol. Not sure how he will do today. But DH just held his face while I pressed it against his face.

 

[ponder]

My pediatrician said no ibuprofen before 6 months due to the possibility of liver or kidney damage ( I can't remember which ).