Antibiotics are undoubtedly one of the easiest forms of relief from regular sicknesses caused by bacteria and lack of strong immunity of the human body. Antibiotics are mostly known for their mild nature and easy availability. However, it is harmful to pop these pills at the drop of a hat. Especially for children, antibiotics taken for infections on a regular basis, can result in some serious long-term side effects. For children it is more harmfully effective because of their still fragile selves that are gradually getting accustomed to the environment around.

Given below is a list of six most common health hazards that children are subjected to, during their regular course of antibiotics:

Antibiotics for Child: 6 Common Health Hazards

Increase in the number of harmful bacteria

Contrary to the popular belief of antibiotics essentially killing all the bad bacteria and promoting good health, it is actually detrimental to one’s health if consumed way too often. As for children, as they grow, they must be kept away from chemically induced medicines as much as possible. Giving them antibiotics on a regular basis can lead to the increase in the number of harmful bacteria as they develop an immunity towards the antibiotics. This will lead to more infections and illnesses in the years to come.

Decrease in the head count of good bacteria

As the number of bad bacteria goes up, the good bacteria find it difficult to survive and are thus killed by the prior. Moreover, the bad bacteria ‘train’ the good bacteria to go berserk as well. Due to the deterioration in the count of the protective good bacteria in your child’s system, they become more susceptible to a horde of diseases that keep attacking them too often. Don’t be surprised if your child nowadays gets more affected by the local infections.

Inflammatory bowel disease

Another vital infection that children taking antibiotics regular are susceptible to catch is one that leads to ugly stomach upsets and pains. Inflammatory bowel disease as well as pelvic inflammatory disease are more common in children who pop antibiotic pills on a regular basis, according to latest medical research in the US universities. These antibiotics kill the good bacteria in the long run, which allow the bad bacteria to dwell in the pelvic region and inside the stomach. This leads to constipation, abdominal cramps at an early age, and indigestion more than often.

Increased risk of diarrhoea

Related to the previous point of discussion, regular intake of antibiotics among kids also increases their risk of contracting diarrhoea. As the protective bacteria that help in digestion and disposing of the waste matter dies out, giving way to the bad bacteria, the intestines become weaker. This results in lack of proper digestion and an increased rate of intolerance towards a lot of foods.

Sensitive gut

The gut contains thousands of bacteria, whose natural balance can be affected if antibiotics are popped on a regular basis since childhood. A bad gut can leas to tonnes of digestive and bowel issues as the food does not get digested properly. The harmful bacteria keep thriving after throwing the good bacteria, known as gut flora, out of their indigenous place. After a certain point in time, the antibiotics will stop acting on the bad bacteria and thus result in bad bacteria causing long-term problems related to food intake. The child will tend to grow allergic to a lot of food products and will have problems in choosing their meals.

Weaker organs

Parent have a habit of administering their child with antibiotics even during common cold or throat infections, which actually do no good to them. Rather, in such cases, the antibiotics kill the good bacteria and allow the harmful bacteria to thrive even better. This leads to weakening of the child’s vital organs too. If antibiotics are given to children with upper respiratory tract infections, without consulting the doctor, it might even lead to traumatic situations like death. So, to make sure that your child is safe, always ask the doctor about the infection and required medication instead of diagnosing the child by yourself.

If you see that your child is faced with constant infections and diseases, it is evident that there is something wrong with their immunity or overall development. Take them to a general physician or a paediatrician for a holistic health check-up. You can talk to the doctor face-to-face and tell them that you would like to go for a more natural treatment, instead of depending constantly on antibiotics and chemical-based drugs. The best way to avoid the usage of such medicines is to go down to the root causes of the initial infections that require antibiotics. Make sure that you ask the doctor for an action plan and a diet chart for your child, so that they are healthier in every aspect.