Is Dog Saliva The Solution?
Does slacking off in the cleaning department help kids from developing food allergies? Maybe, says the cover article, “Kids and the Growing Food Allergy Threat,” of the November 6th issue of Time magazine.
Let me get some things straight from the get-go before we go any further here: 1) We’re not talking about living in squalor or 2) blaming the rise in kids’ allergies on anyone, especially their parents. But one interesting theory advanced in this article, the so-called “hygiene hypothesis,” has me wondering if raising my own children in a less than pristine, dog-filled home might have actually been good for ‘em (the kids) and not a negative (as the popular, clucking mother-in-law theory goes).
The hygiene hypothesis, explains the article, suggests that perhaps “we’ve all become too clean. The immune system is designed to battle dangerous foreign invaders like parasites and viruses and infections,” writes Claudia Kalb. “But clean water, antibiotics and vaccines have eliminated some of our most toxic challenges…Without hard core toxic adversaries…the immune system starts battling the innocuous—eggs or wheat—instead.”
Hmm. My own (very limited) experience might just bear this out. My kids were raised with two canine siblings slobbering all over them from day one. Knowing that she was coming home to a dog-filled household, the hospital nurse advised us to keep them away from our newborn at all costs. So what happened? The minute we walked in the door with our precious first new bundle, one of the dogs jumped up and licked her mouth. From there on, things were pretty much a free-for-all, with our human and canine kids sharing germs, bottles, and snacks. And, guess what? Except for one’s hay fever, neither has any allergies whatsoever. And while I can’t promise that dog saliva is the solution, I think I can safely say that it didn’t hurt much, either.
So if you, too, are raising your child under less than 100% sanitary, germ-free (i.e. real life) conditions, relax. You might just be doing him a favor.
PS: My dogs have been pretty healthy, too. And they regularly devour all sorts of things, food-related and otherwise, with few ill effects.
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SO TRUE!!!! interesting point!
Funny that you should mention that particular "food allergy theory" -- Recently I was thinking that I was raised in a messy home with six kids and several animals (no, some of them were NOT my brothers) and none of us ever developed allergies of any kind. And I actually was able to pass those anti-allergy genes on to my own lucky kids!
We do not have dogs but I am a firm believer in disinfectants, cleanliness, handwashing, etc. My daughter and husband are not the cleanest by any means and are quite healthy, so I guess your theory is correct, a little dirt never hurt anyone.
I knew my relaxed housekeeping skills would serve my family well!
I live in a house that looks very neat and tidy to the untrained eye, but that's because all of the house/pet/kid dust just gets rearranged. So now I know that while we do sneeze at times, it probably is just from a common cold.
Kids and dogs go together in more ways than one, and I always felt kind of bad for the dogless kids. A little dog saliva never really hurt anyone (although I could really do without dog hairs on every item of clothing that I own).
Which came first - the chicken or the egg? In other words, do people who suffer from allergies need to make an extra effort to eliminate allergens in their environment? Or, does an ultra sterile environment prevent one from building immunities in the first place?
I have pet hair tumbleweeds floating through my house and we are all the better for it!
I grew up in a home with a monkey, St. Bernard and those salmonella turtles and never had allergies!! Now I have no pets and am riddled with allergies!!! Maybe I need some dander and pet hairs!
with 2 dogs and 2 cats my family still hs the 5 second rule. If food or cndy drops on the floor it is still edible before 5 seconds. All are doing well!
2 kids, 2 dogs, furniture with dog hair = no allergies.... My mother always told me "you gotta eat a peck of dirt before you die" *which means,to be healthy, you'll never be germ free*
The original comment illudes to the idea that the immune system is built by being exposed to foriegn bodies. My question is if everything is clean and sterile and we/our kids are never exposed to germs, what effect does that have on our immune systems? The theory behind vaccines is if we put a little bit of the disease in our body, our immune systems will develop a defense against that disease. I believe colds/flues/etc. are the same. If we are never exposed to those in everyday life, our bodies won't have the chance to develop immune reactions to them. In short, I agree with the comment, that being exposed to a little dirt and/or germs has positive, not negative effects.
When I was a little girl I probably ate more dirt than anything else and have never been really sick and have no allergies,,,my sister however was a 'girly' girl, a clean freak if you will, and has allergies to rival anyones. She has to take at least 4 pills a day for them. I think a little dirt is good for everyone. Everyone should eat at least 1 mud pie! LOL
I don't even know how long I've been saying that all of this germaphob stuff was more harm than good. It's not just allergies though. I like to think I keep a pretty clean house but I don't go nutty about germs. If kids don't come into contact with germs then they will have a weak immune system and be sick for sure. I believe that cleanliness is a good thing but we need to be sure we aren't doing more harm than good.
i don't think it is a coincidence that the first thing a babe does when he gets a hold of something is to put it in his mouth. i think we were made to naturally build up our immunity by constantly testing it from day one. however, i am sure we were not made to build our immunities up with synthetic substances/chemicals. they are not natural and are generally toxic. so, we need to be sure to let our kids play in the dirt (the organic stuff) while at the same time protect them from their own immune building instinct to shove even dirt with synthetic substances and chemicals in their chubby little faces :)
My brothers and I grew up reciting the phrase "God made dirt and dirt never hurt". With the exception of occasional seasonal allergies all of us are very healthy and don't get sick very often.
LET THEM EAT DIRT!!!!