LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Antibiotics in Children Destroy Immune System, Leads to IBD

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The buzz around overuse of antibiotics focuses on antibiotic resistance, but the danger lies in destruction of the normal, protective flora and immune balance.

For decades now, researchers have been figuratively screaming at clinicians to stop the antibiotic overuse.  These voices largely seem to fall on deaf ears as antibiotics are still used routinely for things like viral infections, upper respiratory tract infections and routine dental work.  Many doctors and parents are hesitant to use a watchful waiting period instead of antibiotics.

Maybe the use of antibiotics remains so pervasive before prescribing doctors do not really understand the relationship between a healthy bacterial flora in an infant and child’s gut and the delicate balance of their immune system.

We have seen , by the time they hit 32 months, have received antibiotics.  This is frankly, appalling.  My son Keegan received his only course of antibiotics at about 5 1/2 years old, which was, of course, followed up by a course of probiotics.

The relationship between the bacteria in our gut and the healthy development of the immune system has been demonstrated time and time again for over a decade.  Any lack of understanding of this relationship, at this stage of the research, is unforgivable.

Some examples include:

  1. 2004-Lactobacillus calms inflammation in the joints.
  2. 2004 – using gut bacteria to prevent colitis.
  3. 2004 – bacteria in the gut can affect the dendritic cells, a key immune regulator.
  4. 2005 – healthy bacteria led to less allergies, bad bacteria led to more.

There are many more, but you can get the idea that this concept is nothing new.

One of the scariest aspects of overuse of antibiotics, though, is the potential to increase the risk of inflammatory bowel disease like Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.

These are potentially devastating autoimmune conditions of the gut that lead your body’s immune system to attack itself.  In bad cases, large sections of the small intestine or colon need to be removed.  It can be debilitating.

And it’s happening to our kids.  This is not a condition any child should have to deal with.  But they are.  And you can bet that rampant use of antibiotics is playing a very large role.

This particular study looks at just how strong the link between antibiotic use as a child and inflammatory bowel disease is.  And it’s much stronger than anyone would’ve thought:

  1. The rate of developing IBD in children who had been given antibiotics was 84% higher.
  2. Any use of antibiotics during childhood increased the risk, but this declined as the child got older.
  3. Use before 1 year of age increased the risk a massive 551%.
  4. Use between age 1 and 5 increased the risk 262%.
  5. Use between 5 and 15 years increased the risk 157%.
  6. Each use of antibiotics increased the overall risk of developing IBD 6%.
  7. The more doses the worse, with >2 antibiotic courses increasing the risk 477%.

These are some VERY serious numbers.  Let me reiterate again that inflammatory bowel disease like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis can be devastating conditions.

Put this into perspective the next time your pediatrician recommends antibiotics for your 6 month old’s ear infection instead of avoiding dairy and adding probiotics.  It’s that clear cut.

Better yet, if your child’s pediatrician is recommending antibiotics when not absolutely, positively necessary, ask what the potential long term risks are of a single course of antibiotics.  If they give you a blank stare, it’s time to find a new one…

How old was your child when he or she had his or her first course of antibiotics?

 

DIETARY CHANGES CAN IMPROVE INFLAMMATORY DISEASES – (03-27-06)

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Bifidogenic growth stimulator for the treatment of active ulcerative colitis

Out of all the autoimmune conditions I see in my office, inflammatory bowel disease definitely tops the list. Just last week I had a patient who had a colonoscopy done and had some mild inflammation. Her GI doc’s recommendation? Wait and watch. How’s that for proactive prevention?

A better management approach would include dietary changes to include increased soluble fiber, probiotic supplementation and EFAs. All of these have been shown to lower inflammation in the GI tract. Or, you could just wait until the inflammation builds enough to actually be classified as a disease state…

Read entire article here

USE OF PROBIOTICS FOR TREATMENT OF INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE – (01-17-05)

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SYNBIOTIC THERAPY (BIFIDOBACTERIUM LONGUM/SYNERGY 1) INITIATES RESOLUTION OF INFLAMMATION IN PATIENTS WITH ACTIVE ULCERATIVE COLITIS

While the use of probiotics to aid in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease is not new, sometimes it’s nice just to reaffirm the efficacy and safety of this approach with a wide range of GI disorders.

Once again, we see that the long term damaging effects of antibiotic use extend well beyond the fear of antibiotic resistance.

Read entire article here

PROBIOTIC EFFECTS ON INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE – (10-29-07)

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Probiotic Effects on Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The relationship between probiotics and IBD is definite. The problem is that we don’t have all the details worked out just yet. What is very clear is that friendly bacteria is absolutely essential for healthy immune system development in the newborn and infant. Having them there early in life helps to set up a tolerance that forever helps balance the immune system.

If the balance is destroyed early, as is the case in any infant given antibiotics and not replaced w/ probiotics (I personally have yet to see a patient come into my office that has ever been recommended probiotics by their pediatrician), the risk for IBD goes up. The problem is that later in life, if the patient develops IBD, the strength of protectiveness of probiotics is not so clear cut.

The bottom line is that we HAVE to understand what antibiotics do to the long term trajectory of our health when given to our infants. To date, it is not and our greatest concern w/ antibiotic overuse remains resistance.

Read entire article here

DESTRUCTION OF NORMAL FLORA THROUGH USE OF ANTIBIOTICS – (07-23-07)

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Gut-associated bacterial microbiota in paediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease

This study identified alterations in the gut bacteria of pediatric patients w/ IBD (Crohn’s, Ulcerative colitis), both increases in pathogenic bacteria and reductions in protective.

The bottom line is that destruction of normal flora through the indiscriminate use of antibiotics will have a much further reaching consequence then what most prescribing pediatricians will ever be aware of.

Read entire article here

REASONS TO AVOID ANTIBIOTICS ESPECIALLY IN INFANTS – (02-11-08)

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High dose probiotic and prebiotic cotherapy for remission induction of active Crohn’s disease

While this is a small study, it’s definitely an important one for a variety of reasons. First, much research suggests that altered bacterial flora plays almost the pivotal role in development of inflammatory bowel disease, but that this alteration occurs early in life. All the more reason to avoid antibiotics at all costs, especially in infants.

Next, the levels used in this study were substantial, with the average being 45 billion CFUs for the entire 13 months of the study. Lastly, the response was quite strong, with NO side effects noted. Given the litany of problems associated with pharmaceutical treatment of IBD, this lack of side effects is a strong selling point.

Read entire article here

HEALTHIER COMMUNICATION MEANS HEALTHIER CELLS – (04-28-08)

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Phosphatidylcholine for Steroid-Refractory Chronic Ulcerative Colitis

Phosphatidylcholine is an important component of our cell wells; without adequate levels, the cell cannot effectively communicate messages from inside of the cell to outside. Healthier communication means healthier cells.

In this particular study, the authors use PC to see if it could more effectively help patients with UC come off of their steroids. While this was a small study, a 40% better response with the use of PC is a pretty exciting result. Couple this with other dietary changes and anti-inflammatory compounds like fish oil and it is likely to provide a very effective natural approach to inflammatory bowel disease.

Read entire article here

DYSBIOSIS IN INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE – (09-01-08)

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Dysbiosis in inflammatory bowel disease: a role for bacteriophages?

There is very strong evidence of the contribution to altered bacterial flora in the development of inflammatory bowel disease like Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis. However, the role of probiotics in the treatment of IBD is not as clear cut. It basically appears that, once the alterations from improper flora are present, the physiology has a real time correcting itself. Which brings us back to what alters the flora in the GI tract in the first place. The answer begins at delivery. We know that infants born vaginally have a much different flora then C-section babies. Couple this with the 90-something percent of infants that have antibiotics by the time they’re 2 and you’ve got a recipe for physiological disaster.

At some point pediatricians have to crack open a medical journal and realize the massive level of harm we are causing by indiscriminate antibiotic use for largely self-limiting conditions. I have a 2 1/2 year old that’s never even breathed the fumes of the ink off an antibiotic prescription. It’s not that difficult to maintain healthy toddlers–you just can’t follow the status quo. Make the right decisions and you can help protect your child from adult diseases.

Read entire article here