Suramya's Blog : Welcome to my crazy life…

November 8, 2011

Being exposed to a more varied Bacteria limits baby allergy risk

Filed under: My Thoughts — Suramya @ 2:42 AM

Now there is actual ‘proof’ about something that all of us have known about/believed in for a long time (at least I have). According to a study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology; infants who encounter a wide range of bacteria are less at risk of developing allergies later in life. So if you coddle a kid too much you are putting them at an higher risk of having health issues later in life. Which means a kid that is out there playing in the field is less likely to have allergies than a kid who is kept in a sterile environment. BTW, just to be clear I am not saying that all kids should be made to play in a dumpster, just that its ok for them to play in a bit of mud and rain etc.

Infants who encounter a wide range of bacteria are at less risk of developing allergies later in life, researchers in Denmark said. Professor Hans Bisgaard of Gentofte Hospital and the University of Copenhagen said 25 percent of the population of Denmark suffer from allergies.

Before I went to US, I didn’t know anyone with any dairy allergies or peanut allergies etc. Its only when I got to the US I found people with such allergies and found it a bit surprising. I think it has to do with the more outdoor games all kids in my friend circle/acquaintances played. We were usually out in the field playing soccer or running around in the mud or just on the field having outdoor picnics instead of playing video games. I didn’t die of weird diseases although I believe I did get a stomach upset a couple of times. I think kids should be allowed to be kids and play. Not saying that they shouldn’t be stopped from eating mud or harmful chemicals but if they managed to swallow a bit of mud, its not the end of the world.

Now even in India a lot of kids have allergies and similar issues and I think it has to do with the limited exposure these kids have to the outside world. A lot of the schools are now air conditioned, and most houses are as well which removes all the pollens/dust etc from the air thanks to the filtering. In the evening most of the kids are over at a friends place or at home playing video games instead of being out in the field/pool. (atleast that’s the perception I have talking to my niece and younger cousins) So this limited exposure to outside world means more health issues and more medicines etc.

What do you think?

– Suramya

Source: UPI.com Health news

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