Probiotics No Help in Childhood Eczema
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - About 3 million U.S. children have a food or digestive allergy — an 18 percent increase over the past 10 years, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Wednesday. Eight types of food account for 90 percent of these food allergies: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and
Full Post: More children have allergies, CDC reports
- New research shows that the use of probiotics to treat eczema in children is not effective and may carry a risk of bowel damage and infection.
Probiotics are naturally occurring microorganisms. In most cases they are bacteria and are similar to the friendly bacteria found in the gut or skin. Lactobacillus and bifidobacterium are common probiotics that are found in many foods such as yogurt, unpasteurized milk, fermented soy and yeast, and infant formula.
People with eczema have what is believed to be a disorder of cells of the immune system. Probiotics have been used as a treatment for eczema in children. But a Cochrane Collaboration review of 12 studies involving 781 children concluded that there is no evidence that probiotics in supplement form reduce the symptoms of eczema or change its severity.
Probiotics for Eczema
The 12 studies were conducted between 2003 and 2008. The children ranged in age from 1 month to 13 years, but most of them were under 18 months old and appeared to have an allergy to cow’s milk. The probiotic strain used most commonly in the studies was Lactobacillusrhamnosus, either alone or in combination with other probiotic bacteria.
The trials did not note any negative reaction to probiotics, but when Cochrane researchers dragged a net through a wider pool of studies, they found 46 cases in which probiotics were implicated in infection, bowel tissue damage, and even death, says Robert Boyle, MD, the lead researcher in the review.
Boyle is an allergist who teaches medicine at Imperial College in London. The bowel damage and fatalities occurred in patients with severe pancreatitis, he says.
“A wider trawl of literature showed that although probiotics are recognized as a safe treatment in otherwise healthy people, in people who are severely unwell, there is a significant risk in using probiotics,” he says.
Boyle says he also wouldn’t recommend giving infants probiotics, even if the infant is healthy. And he would not advise anyone with eczema to use probiotics because, he says, there are more effective treatments.
Eczema Common Worldwide
Eczema is characterized by dry, red, and itchy patches on the skin. The chronic, non-contagious condition affects 5%-20% of the world’s population but is especially common in children, more than half of whom will outgrow it.
The American Academy of Dermatology says eczema may be an abnormal response of the body’s immune system to allergens like animal dander and dust mites. There is no cure, but moisturizers are generally recommended, along with topical corticosteroids. In some cases, doctors recommend an antihistamine to reduce itching.
Probiotic supplements seem to reduce diarrhea and bloating in kids who have been treated with antibiotics, and they are marketed as such, but in her experience, they don’t have a noticeable effect on eczema, says Nanette Silverberg, MD, director of pediatric and adolescent dermatology at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Related Posts:
TUESDAY, Nov. 18 — People with HIV have about twice the risk of developing a non-AIDS cancer as members of the general population, a new report says. Men with HIV were 2.3 times more likely, while women with the virus are about 1.5 times more likely to develop these other cancers, according to a meta-analysis expected
Full Post: Non-AIDS Cancer Risk Higher for Those With HIV
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are suffering from bronchospasm, then the doctors may prescribe Albuterol. It is an effective drug that gives much relief to your conditions. The drug works on the muscles in the lungs, relaxing it, which helps in the uninterrupted flow of air into the region. Once Albuterol is given, always take care that you
Full Post: Albuterol
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Albuterol is an effective drug that treats bronchospasm. The drug is also prescribed for wheezing and difficulty breathing which is caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. Albuterol also treats exercise-induced bronchospasm. A bronchodilator, Albuterol acts on the muscles of the air passage in the lungs. When the muscles are relaxed, the air flow increases
Full Post: Albuterol is an effective drug that treats bronchospasm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zyrtec drug is given for the treatment of allergy symptoms like cold, itching, watery eyes, sneezing and runny nose. The medicine is also prescribed for hay fever, swelling and itching caused by chronic urticaria. Zyrtec is an antihistamine that acts on histamine, a natural chemical that is responsible for the allergic symptoms. The drug reduces
Full Post: Zyrtec drug is given for the treatment of allergy symptoms