Paracetamol and asthma

Saw a brief mention of this on the news tonight and thought I'd look it up. According to research about to be published, children who are regularly given paracetamol in the first year of life are up to 25% more likely to develop asthma.

My wee boy is already more susceptible to asthma and wheezing type illnesses due to family history and having breathing difficulties when he was born, so I try to keep an eye on these things.

However one of the experts in the story I've linked to had a very good point:
"There are a number of early life infections that have been linked to increased risk of asthma. So in this type of observational study it is hard to separate whether it is the paracetamol or the underlying infection, for which the paracetamol was given, that is the cause for the increased risk of asthma... It is important to remember that high fevers in babies can have some very serious consequences. Paracetamol is very useful in managing high fevers in these kids. I would be very worried if these results stopped parents and doctors giving paracetamol to manage high fevers in young children."

Damned if you do, damned if you don't, huh...

Yup, I saw this on the news. It's worrying for me as both gremlins have paracetamol on a very regular basis, at least once a week, due to the pain their ears cause so they have high exposure to it. That said, they haven't shown any signs of respiratory problems in any form, unlike Chiara who has only had one dose of paracetamol in her life. She fits into the pre-existing category tho - she only needed the paracetamol coz she had a fever from pneumonia which affects her lungs anyway.

yeah, I heard that and thought "oh great!"  What next?  did you also hear that we have had some chinese made formula on our shelves too?  You really cant win.