Rates of asthma in children are increasing every year, and doctors have been unable to explain why. But according to a study done at the University of British Columbia in Canada, the cause may be over-prescription of antibiotics. Researchers compiled data from several studies including 12,000 children and found that infants who received antibiotics during their first year of life were twice as likely to develop asthma later on. Pediatricians often give infants antibiotics for minor infections and earaches, even though antibiotics only attack bacterial infections, not viral ones. Although the study did not prove that antibiotics directly cause asthma, it did indicate that judicious use of the drugs is indicated. Shonishen, a needle-free form of pediatric acupuncture, is extremely effective in stimulating the immune system of infants and children, assisting the body to rapidly kill off infections on its own. This not only decreases the risk of possibly developing asthma, it also minimizes the need for the drugs, thus delaying the child’s eventual resistance to various medications.