Treat a fever, get a wheeze
Paracetamol increases the risk of asthma in children
paracetamol, sold under brand names such as Metacin, Crocin and Calpol in India, is considered a safe bet against fever and body ache. But it may pose problems for children, a new study revealed. It found that if a child was given paracetamol within the first year of birth, it increased the risk of asthma by 46 per cent five or six years later. It also made children prone to repetitive sneezing, nasal congestion, hay fever and eczema. Despite these findings, the researchers said that paracetamol should remain the preferred drug against fever in children because its alternatives were more harmful.
Researchers across the world studied more than 200,000 children in the age group of six to seven in 31 countries. If paracetamol was administered once or more than once a month, the risk doubled, said their paper published in Lancet (Vol 372, No 9643). The analysis was part of phase three of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood. Researchers said that earlier phases of the study had found increased incidents of asthma along with a simultaneous rise in use of paracetamol. The researchers reviewed other related studies, the European respiratory health survey for instance, which began in the 1980s. This study said that the risk of asthma increased due to paracetamol use during pregnancy, infancy and adult life. This study was carried out in 22 countries including India and involved about 150,000 individuals. Another study published in the Journal of Investigational Allergology and Clinical Immunology (Vol 16, No 4), studied more than 3,000 children in Mexico and established a link between paracetamol and asthma and eczema. A similar study published in European Respiratory Journal (Vol 18, No 3) also said that paracetamol increased the risk of asthma and not environmental allergens such as dust. But there are few alternatives to the drug. Aspirin, also prescribed for fever and body ache, is known to cause Reye