Probiotics Ease Cold and Flu-Like Symptoms in Children

A recent article in the Journal of Clinical Chiropracic Pediatrics reported on a study involving 326 children, ages 3 to 5, who participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled test of the effects of probiotics on cold and flu-like symptoms.

I follow health and wellness issues closely in professional journals and publications. I tend to notice that people often think of chiropractors in terms of treating neck and back pain, but many of my colleagues, and I, myself, are involved in all aspects of our patients' health and well-being, including proper nutrition and illness-preventative measures, such as those explored in this study.

In this study, children in the study group were assigned at random to get one of three planned dosages. One group received just a placebo, or common sugar pill with no theraputic value. A second group got a single probiotic dosage, and the third got a combination probiotic dosage.

The study participants received their allocated dosage twice a day for six months. They were then analyzed to determine both the incidence of cold and flu-like symptoms during the test period, as well as the duration of such symptoms.

In comparison to the placebo group, the children who had taken the single-strain probiotic and 53% reduction in fevers, a 41.4% reduction in coughing, and a 28.3% reduction in runny nose. The study also measured the duration of cold and flu-like symptoms in the sudy group, and, once again, there was a marked improvement for those children using some form of probiotics over the placebo group. The single-strain probiotics usage resulted in a lesser duration of symptoms by 32%; the combination-strain usage caused a 48% reduction in the duration of the symptoms. The study also concluded that children getting some form of probiotics had less need to take antibiotics during the test period and also were absent much less from school.

This is just one study and more studies are needed before any absolute conclusions can be drawn, but it does show that probiotics have a profound effect on reducing flu-like symptoms in children.