Asthma is really an immune system problem, one that is tied to our microbes. Our microbiome is really important for teaching and training the immune system. Kids with the highest risk of asthma seem to be missing four bacteria and that those bacteria make chemicals called metabolites that train the immune system.

These missing bacteria are related to risk factors for asthma very early in life, the first three months being the most critical for child and microbal development. If your child is born by C-section, bottle-fed, lives in the city, or has received antibiotics in the first year of life, they are likely at increased risk for getting asthma (usually between the ages of 3 and 5).

There is exciting research happening right now where companies are developing a screening process to identify if a child is missing these microbes or bacteria very early. This provides an opportunity in the first year of life to give children certain microbes to repair this deficit and potentially prevent asthma and allergies.

Learn more about microbes and asthma:

• “Childhood Asthma May Begin Before Birth” Medscape News
• “Could asthma start with your gut?” Canadian Institutes of Health Research
• “Preventing childhood asthma: Could gut bacteria be the key?” Medical News Today
• “The Role of the Microbiome in Asthma: The Gut–Lung Axis,” International Journal of Molecular Science