Therapy With Gastric Acidity Inhibitors Increases the Risk of Acute Gastroenteritis and Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Children
Ok. My first question would be, why the &*^% are we putting any child on acid suppressive therapy!!! Holy physiology disruption, Batman!! And so, we completely mess with one of a child’s most important functions, and then wonder why all heck breaks loose and they have increased risk for GI infections and pneumonia?
I had a woman call me awhile back because her newborn was vomiting constantly and her pediatrician wanted the baby on prilosec. She was strongly against this so called me for advice. Dietary changes and formula changes hadn’t worked. Knowing that improper bacterial flora in the stomach can increase gastritis in adults, I ask about method of birth, thinking C-section may have effected bacterial balance. Nope, normal vaginal. But mom was put on heavy doses of antibiotics prior to delivery for group B strep.
With this knowledge I recommended probiotics and asked her to call me with an update. She called back a few weeks later, and right around the time of starting the probiotics, it became gradually clear that the infant had trush. The pediatrician wanted the baby on antifungals at this point. At this point, the use of probiotics was even further indicated (they had not been used more than one or two times prior to onset of thrush).
The pediatrician, by missing the real issue, may have set in motion a series of alterations in this baby’s physiology that would’ve left her at increased risk of allergies, asthma and autoimmune conditions.