Sleeping Angels

How children's sleep affects their health and well being.

Dennis Rosen, M.D. is a pediatric sleep specialist who practices at Children's Hospital Boston. See full bio

July 29, 2009, Integrative Medicine

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure: how to beat the flu

Probiotic supplements found to protect against flu-like illness

In the past few weeks, there have been an increasing number of Tamiflu resistant cases of H1N1 virus, the cause of the recent swine flu pandemic. Tamiflu is one of only two medications which have been effective in treating H1N1, and its loss is very worrisome. Many people who specialize in infectious disease are very concerned about the possibility of the virus mutating further and becoming both more resistant and deadlier, resulting in widespread sickness and loss of life. And so, it was very encouraging this week to read an article which appears in the August 2009 issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

In a study conducted by a multinational group, 326 Chinese children between the ages of 3-5 were selected to receive either placebo or a supplement containing two strains of probiotic bacteria twice daily during the winter season for 6 months. Probiotic bacteria are live bacteria that are normally present in the intestines and do not cause sickness or disease. They are thought to have many positive effects, and are used to prevent different types of ailments, including certain types of infectious diarrhea, irritable bowel, and some allergies. Different dietary supplements containing probiotic bacteria are available over the counter at drug and health food stores and do not require prescriptions.

The authors found that during the treatment period, fever was reduced by more than 72%, cough by more than 62%, and nasal congestion by more than 58% in those children receiving the probiotic supplement. When children in the study did come down with flu-like symptoms of fever, cough, and runny nose, the duration of symptoms was reduced by 48% in those on the supplement compared with those not receiving it. Antibiotic use in children on the supplement was reduced by more than 84%. Absences from childcare were reduced by 27.7% in those children on the supplement. No adverse consequences were seen as a result of being on the probiotic supplement.

This is really exciting, from the perspectives of pediatrician, parent, and potential patient. If, as it seems, probiotic supplements can have such a significant effect on preventing and/or attenuating signs and symptoms of infectious respiratory disease, one should seriously consider adding them to one's armamentarium this coming fall, for all the reasons mentioned above. While there is no guarantee that taking them will prevent the flu, and I would strongly recommend the flu shot to anyone in whom it is not contraindicated, if enough people heed these findings, it could significantly reduce the huge human and economic costs the flu and the common cold generate each year. To quote Benjamin Franklin, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Link to article: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/124/2/e172