Early Antibiotics May Lead to Lasting Asthma, Allergies

Early Antibiotics May Lead to Lasting Asthma, Allergies
A new study adds to previous work linking antibiotics to allergies.Miljan Zivkovic/Shutterstock
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Early exposure to antibiotics kills healthy bacteria in the digestive tract and can cause permanent asthma and allergies, a new study shows.

The study, published in Mucosal Immunology, provides the strongest evidence so far that the long-observed connection between antibiotic exposure in early childhood and later development of asthma and allergies is causal.