Hygiene and Allergies

Vidhya Nagarajan for NPR

There is a theory out there called the hygiene hypothesis that claims that skyrocketing cases of allergies and autoimmune disorders are attributable to developed societies' obsession with hygiene and eliminating microbes in our environment. I've heard this idea before and it makes perfect sense to me. It relates to the whole immunization discussion happening right now. In the same way that immunizations train a body's immune system to recognize harmful microbes, non-harmful microbes are thought to help train or calibrate our immune systems. Without that calibration the immune system can misbehave.

Recently I heard a news story about a Swedish study that found that children who lived in homes where their families washed their dishes by hand instead of with a dishwasher (i.e., eating surfaces were not as sterile) were 50% less likely to develop allergies.

That is huge.

It gives definite credibility to the hygiene hypothesis, and something we should consider. I plan to keep my dishwasher, but maybe I will lay off bleach mopping and trying to sterilize so much all the time. But then, I probably don't have anything to worry about; in a household with 6 kids (and many other children coming and going on a daily basis), and dog and a cat, kids in the barn with horses...we probably have enough exposure to the kind of microbial life that will train my children's immune systems really well. ha ha...

It's something we should all think about. Read or listen to the news story here. 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/02/23/387553285/kids-allergies-and-a-possible-downside-to-squeaky-clean-dishes?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&fb_ref=Default#