Paracetamol doubles asthma risk by age of 6

BABIES given paracetamol are twice as likely to develop asthma by the age of six, research shows.

And children given paracetamol in the first 15 months are also at a much higher risk of developing allergies when they are older.

The study, published in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Allergy, adds to growing evidence linking paracetamol to an increased incidence of asthma — the commonest chronic disease in childhood in Ireland.