Who doesn’t love a spotlessly clean house? Apparently your newborns immune system if its too clean.
As according to a study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, only 8 percent of children who suffered from allergies and wheezing had been exposed to homes rich in allergens and bacteria in their first year of life. And by contrast, 41 percent in the study who were allergy and wheeze free children grew up in homes that were full of allergens and bacteria.
America’s Soaring Wheezing Illnesses & Allergies
Almost half of all 3 year old children in the United States are reported to live with some sort of wheezing illness. A major risk factor for asthma in later life is suffering with these same recurrent wheezing illnesses and allergies according to researchers from the study.
Asthma is also still one of the most common paediatric illnesses according to the American Lung Association, with rates at the last count being almost almost 7 million children who live with the condition.
Potential to Lower Worldwide Asthma Rates
With asthma rates so staggeringly high in America for children, the rates on a global scale for adults are still considerably high – being close to 235 million according to the WHO. And perhaps not a lot is mentioned of asthma these days because of asthmas relatively low fatality rate when compared to other diseases, but this still doesn’t make it any easier on those living with the condition who find it hard to breathe when coming into contact with certain allergens that are behind the wheezing that leads to a potentially deadly asthma attack in asthmatics.
So much can be learned from this study, and from it a very necessary dialogue should be opened up. This dialogue should definitely should start out with are we often the cause for childhood asthma that develops? And are some of our homes too clean?
As researchers from this study found that:
- During their first year of life, infants who lived in homes with mouse and cat dander and cockroach droppings had lower rates of wheezing at age 3 when compared to children not exposed to allergens
- Wheezing was three times as common in children who grew up in homes without such allergens
- Household bacteria also played a role and so for those infants exposed to a greater variety of bacteria were less likely to develop allergies and wheezing by age 3
- Children free of wheezing and allergies at age 3 had grown up with the highest levels of household allergens and were the most likely to live in houses with the richest array of bacterial species
Keep It Clean, But Not Obsessively Clean
So, the best way to in fact prime your newborns immune system, and therefore set them up for a life of better health, is to expose them on a regular basis to bacteria and allergens. Now, I am not suggesting you keep the cockroach infestation in your home, or allow your dogs hair to build up in your home – as researchers from the study have stated that the findings still need to be verified before making household decisions based on them.
But they did also state there is no need to get rid of your family pet to help prevent allergies and asthma.