Although there is still a long way to go to advise them to prevent them pregnant women, a Finnish study has concluded that probiotics during pregnancy and lactation would reduce the risk of eczema in the baby.
Probiotics are "good" bacteria that help balance the population of bacteria in the intestine and prevent the spread of disease-causing strains.
Eczema, meanwhile, is an inflammatory skin disease of allergic origin characterized by an itchy rash, the most common skin condition in young children. Currently, at least one in ten babies suffers from eczema during the first year of life and it is estimated that half of them will develop some other type of allergy in the future such as asthma or pollen allergy.
That is why experts strive to find ways to prevent it, even from pregnancy. A team of researchers from the Central Hospital of the University of Turku, says that probiotics are safe and effective in reducing the risk of eczema in children with allergic mothers.
To prove this, 241 pregnant women with a history of allergies were chosen, divided into two groups and one was given a mixture of powders with water from one or two different combinations of probiotics each day, and the other, a placebo mixture without bacteria They took it during the last two months of pregnancy and the first two months of breastfeeding.
Two years later, data were collected on children who had developed eczema. They found that 71 percent of the babies in the placebo group suffered eczema at least once, compared to 29 percent of babies whose mothers took a combination of probiotics. However, until two years there was no difference between children sensitive to other allergens, such as milk, wheat, soybeans and dog and cat dander, based on whether their mothers had taken the supplements.
It is a considerable reduction that could make you think of an effective and economical treatment for mothers at high risk of allergies that could be inherited by the baby.
Via | Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Photo | Emery Co Photo at Fickr In Babies and more | Probiotics to prevent eczema in babies
