According to an article in Slate, titled "What Dirt Should Your Baby Eat," not all germs are equal when it comes to helping the immune system and health later in life.
Next time someone tells you that you should let your kid suffer from the flu or even a common cold to help their immune system, think twice before following their advice. By the same token, I guess I should be happy about all those dropped pacifiers that they put back in their mouths.
Amanda Schaffer writes, "The silver lining of protection against later asthma or allergic conditions is harder to spot for respiratory infections. Papers that sort through the evidence generally find scant evidence that runny noses and sore throats help kids stay healthy later. In fact, children hospitalized for severe respiratory syncytial virus or bronchiolitis may be more likely to develop asthma later on according to Anne Wright of the Arizona Respiratory Center. The flu, too, might spur asthma's development. And early bronchitis or frequent common colds seemed not to lower the risk of atopic eczema—bronchitis, in fact, seemed to increase it. The theme here seems to be: Ingest; don't inhale."
Check out the full story: http://www.slate.com/id/2248524/
No comments:
Post a Comment