What children with asthma (and not only them) should stay away of
(Mirror Daily, United States) Contrary to everything predicted and thought before, children with asthma are not threatened by Acetaminophen (Tylenol, Panadol, etc.). A new study shows that previous research was not right, as the medication does not aggravate the condition in children.
Parents can feel relieved as doctors assure them that there is no risk if their child takes acetaminophen after catching a cold or for reducing pain. The new study shows that there is no connection between such medicine and the potential for asthma to develop further with children.
The new research was based on analyses on children with asthma in different stages of development. There were 300 little patients, aged 1 to 5. The trial consisted of separating the children into two groups, out of which one was administered acetaminophen, and the other was administered ibuprofen, in case they got sick. At the end of the stated period (48 weeks), what the doctors found out was that there were no damages caused by these drugs to the already existing asthma.
The researchers are aware of the fact that their findings only apply to a particular group age (1-5), and that the results may be different with other groups of age. Also, they have focused on a mild form of asthma, and they consider the possibility of another reaction with severe forms of the disease and the particular drugs.
There are some other studies related to the subject, which claim that pregnant women who take acetaminophen during pregnancy are prone to have problems with their babies, in the sense that the child is prone to behavior problems around the age of seven.
Wanda Phipatanakul (Boston Children’s Hospital’s Division of Allergy and Immunology) was the leader of the research team. She talks about how asthma works function of children’s age:
“The toddler age is a wheezy age when kids are developing asthma, but they also get a lot of fevers and colds. Without a randomized design, it’s hard to tease out the effects of medications.”
Asthma is a respiratory disease, associated with symptoms such as coughing and breathing difficulty. Some patients depend on inhalers. There are also therapies which can help those who have the disease.
The study was published in New England Journal of Medicine, on August 18.
Image courtesy of: Wikipedia