Excessive-cleanliness-may-boost-allergies

The Washington Times ^ | April 15, 2010 | Jennifer Harper

[lakeprincess]

Put away the hand sanitizer. It's not necessarily the grime, dust bunnies, cat dander or pollen causing those miserable springtime allergies. The culprit actually may be too much cleanliness.

[historyrepeatz]

and DON’T USE anti-bacterial soaps! They kill the “good” bacteria along with the bad! NO anti-bacterial stuff in OUR house.

[Spok]

I have read before that raising children in a sterile environment ill prepares their immune system to withstand what they’ll routinely encounter in the real world. I think it applies to both physiology and intellect, and explains alot.

[DuncanWaring]

I started hearing this at least a decade ago.

[a fool in paradise]

“We were healthy because we SWAM IN GARBAGE!” - George Carlin

[libertarian27]

I have been practicing non-cleanliness in my household even before this study:)

Glad to see I was on the healthier track...

[ronniesgal]

uh oh. Neat freak on board!
My allergies are kicking my a$$ today.

[dirtymac]

Ever notice that infants and other young children will automatically put everything in their mouth. Building up their immune system.

[Mich Patriot]

“...automatically put everything in their mouth.”

Sounds like this girl I dated in high school!

[rod1]

Yep. The newborn’s immune system needs some timely stimulation to fully mature and achieve a more useful balance of immune responses capabilities throughout life.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Strategies-for-Protecting-Your-Childs-Immune-System/Rodney-R-Dietert/e/9789814287098/?itm=6&USRI=dietert

[Ditter]

I have read it too and I think that theory is a crock. No one was raised playing in more dirt than I was and I have lots of allergies, inhalants and food allergies. I slept with my cat and my dog, I made mud pies and ate some of them. I went barefoot all summer and stepped in chicken poop. Grew up drinking milk from our cow and vegetables from our garden. There was no such thing as antibiotic soap in the 40’s. I had asthma as a child and I am still allergic to tons of things. You can believe it if you want to but I am living (sneezing, coughing, wheezing, itchy) proof that this is not true.

[Spok]

I think a statistical sampling of one is too small to establish or disprove a hypothesis.

[surrey]

There are always exceptions but growing up I didn’t have any friends who were allergic to anything. These days kids are allergic to everything.

[UK_Jeffersonian]

writing sticky to wife.

[Paleo Conservative]

and DON’T USE anti-bacterial soaps! They kill the “good” bacteria along with the bad! NO anti-bacterial stuff in OUR house.

The problem is public restrooms only have anti-bacterial soap. I get dermatitis from anti-bacterial soap. At least the foam dispensers give me less problem than the liquid ones.

[Texan Tory]

Allergies are so confusing to me. Exposure, over time, can cause you to become allergic to something. But allergenists can also inject you with an allergen to desensitize you to it. I’m hoping that there’s a Freeper allergenist who will provide a logical explanation for this apparent contradiction.

[Ditter]

I will add my brother and all my cousins to the allergy list. Here is a hint, it’s a gene thing.

[Ditter]

I expect you didn’t know that some of your friends had allergies, they are not all secver enough to talk about. Today all kids are NOT allergic to everything. I will site my adopted kids and their children who have no allergies, as I told spok, it’s a gene thing.

[dangus]

Not only that, they breed super-germs. Anti-bacterial soaps may be the singularly most idiotic thing our culture has ever done. And that includes giving Milli Vanilli a Grammy.

[algernonpj]

I'm not an allergist, but like Ditter I grew up in filth and became allergic to 'everything' - partially genetic, partially several bad unavoidable exposures. This is a synopsis of what I have learned in self-defense.

For those who are genetically susceptible to allergies,exposure to certain substances (e.g. pollen, foods) causes the creation of an antibody called IGE. IGE is usually associated with fighting off parasites.

In the case of an allergy the IGE cell attaches itself to a mast cell which causes the allergic symptoms.



Allergy shots cause the creation IGG antibodies in response to the allergen (pollen, food, etc). IGG binds with and destroys the allergen, thereby eliminating or reducing allergy symptoms. Allergy Shots

Allergy shots can eliminate all or part of the allergic symptoms, and themselves can cause a bad reaction.