14 DAY TRIAL // Researchers have just determined that raising a child with a dog around is very likely to help the kid develop only milder allergies to animals, if the allergies develop at all later on in life.
Studying such aspects is very important, scientists say, given the rising incidence of allergies in the general population, especially in the western, developed world.
The main reason why this happens is that the so-called civilized world has forgotten the importance of letting children experience their environment.
Doing so is an important part of growing up, and is also what makes the immune system become stronger, and capable of dealing with numerous stimuli of all natures, as well as with microorganisms.
But parents are over-sensitive to even the tiniest scratch, and put all sorts of disinfectants and other chemicals on top of them. This hinders the action of the immune system, which then lags behind.
The child then goes on to become hyper-sensitive, and life-long dependent on medicine to escape even the most minor problems. This can all be solved if they are left free to explore while they are infants.
The research team that conducted the new investigation is based at the University of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, MyHealthNewsDaily reports.
The study revealed that infants who grew around a dog for the first years of their lives were 4 times less likely to experience eczemas than kids who were allergic to dogs without having been exposed to the animals when they were very small.
“We found that even among people who were allergy-skin-test positive to dog, having a dog in the home […] was associated with a lower risk of eczema, so there may be some protective effect from having a dog in the home,” explains Dr. Tolly Epstein.
He holds an appointment as an assistant professor of immunology at the university, and was also a researcher on the new study.
The same positive correlation did not hold true for cats. “There may be differences between the allergens themselves and the effect they have on the immune system,” Epstein goes on to explain.
Scientists jokingly said that this is yet another case when a dog is a man's best friend. The study suggests that having pet dogs may be useful for children, especially those who are not left to experience their environment.