Learn about the hygiene hypothesis and understand how exposure to certain germs help develop a child's immunity
Research suggests that exposure to germs early in life helps a child develop a healthy immune system.
Science in Seconds (www.scienceinseconds.com) (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
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Transcript
[Music in]
TORAH KACHUR: The universal loathing of children for bathing might just be evolution at work. Parents, it's time to put down the antibiotic lens cleaner, the antiviral yoga pants, and the ridiculous toilet bowl cleaner. Oh, okay, not that one.
It's time to build a sandbox, go camping, and let children be--well--children. The hygiene hypothesis says that exposure to germs early in life is critical to develop a healthy immune system. Swimming in scum-filled ponds or playing in the barn exposes a child's immune system to hepatitis A, Helicobacter pylori, and other nasty-sounding pathogens, but the kids magically don't die. Instead, the exposure to low levels of disease-causing germs has been linked to reduced rates of pesky conditions like asthma and other autoimmune disorders. These are conditions when your body's immune system attacks itself by accident, like irritable bowel, multiple sclerosis, and type I diabetes, diseases almost exclusively found in the developed world. The immunoprotective effect of just dirt is accomplished almost exclusively in childhood, for the immune system is learning all sorts of things about what is good and bad from the environment.
It's in the sandbox where children learn how to share, pee standing up, and activate their regulatory T cells. Regulatory T cells are a type of immune cell that is responsible for controlling the degree of the immune response and tempering attacks on your own body.
Researchers have found that when children are exposed to low levels of feces and contaminated water, this causes the regulatory T cells to learn what is environment and what is self.
So, stop being so ridiculously hygienic when it comes to your kids. We evolved in the outdoors and have learned to benefit from it. If your kid gets the sniffles from it, it's still better than an irritable bowel.
[Music out]
TORAH KACHUR: The universal loathing of children for bathing might just be evolution at work. Parents, it's time to put down the antibiotic lens cleaner, the antiviral yoga pants, and the ridiculous toilet bowl cleaner. Oh, okay, not that one.
It's time to build a sandbox, go camping, and let children be--well--children. The hygiene hypothesis says that exposure to germs early in life is critical to develop a healthy immune system. Swimming in scum-filled ponds or playing in the barn exposes a child's immune system to hepatitis A, Helicobacter pylori, and other nasty-sounding pathogens, but the kids magically don't die. Instead, the exposure to low levels of disease-causing germs has been linked to reduced rates of pesky conditions like asthma and other autoimmune disorders. These are conditions when your body's immune system attacks itself by accident, like irritable bowel, multiple sclerosis, and type I diabetes, diseases almost exclusively found in the developed world. The immunoprotective effect of just dirt is accomplished almost exclusively in childhood, for the immune system is learning all sorts of things about what is good and bad from the environment.
It's in the sandbox where children learn how to share, pee standing up, and activate their regulatory T cells. Regulatory T cells are a type of immune cell that is responsible for controlling the degree of the immune response and tempering attacks on your own body.
Researchers have found that when children are exposed to low levels of feces and contaminated water, this causes the regulatory T cells to learn what is environment and what is self.
So, stop being so ridiculously hygienic when it comes to your kids. We evolved in the outdoors and have learned to benefit from it. If your kid gets the sniffles from it, it's still better than an irritable bowel.
[Music out]
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