The cowshed protects against asthma
Bacteria strengthen the immune system. As a result, children who play in the cowshed are less likely to suffer from asthma or other allergies than city children.
What children put in their mouths during childhood sounds disgusting to adults. Nevertheless, sand, stones, soil, snails and grass help to prevent allergies. Dirt contains bacteria and the more of it children eat, the better protected they are against diseases. SRF reports on the so-called "farm effect". . Researchers have known since the 1980s that city children suffer from allergies more often than children who grow up on a farm. The reason for this is the hygienic conditions. Due to the cleanliness of their homes, city children are only exposed to a few bacteria. In contrast, a cowshed contains a variety of bacteria, viruses and fungi. Asthma and hay fever can be reduced, if not prevented, by constant exposure to these dirty conditions. "An environment that is not highly hygienic trains the immune system. It learns not to react to substances that are harmless in themselves," says Bettina Ravazzolo, expert at aha! Allergy Centre Switzerland.
According to Ravazzolo, an increase in all allergies is generally being observed. For example, the frequency of pollen allergies in Switzerland has risen from less than 1 to 20 per cent since the beginning of the 20th century. The number of asthma sufferers worldwide has more than tripled in the last fifty years from 6 per cent to 19 per cent.
Cowshed bacteria as protection for city children
Swiss scientists, together with international colleagues, have now shown that cowshed bacteria can also protect city children from asthma, as SRF writes. A new study in the magazine "Nature" shows that the farm effect can also be transferred to city dwellings. Children are less likely to develop asthma if there are many typical farm microbes. The researchers are now conducting further studies to give city dwellers the opportunity to benefit from this effect.
In Finland, for example, they are placing forest soil in the entrance areas of flats. In the hope that the bacteria will be distributed in the rooms and thus strengthen the residents' immune system. They are also trying to develop a nasal spray that contains components of farm bacteria. However, it will certainly be a while before these studies are completed and new products to strengthen the immune system are launched on the market.
Strengthening the immune system
In the meantime, you can expose your child to dirt as often as possible. For example, by constantly visiting a farm or stable or by playing with sand, stones and soil. In addition, wearing dirty street shoes in the home or romping around in the dirt can have a positive effect on the immune system, as co-author of the study Pirkka Kirjavainen from the National Institute for Health and Social Affairs in Finland is quoted in the SRF article.
Prevention for a child's healthy immune system begins in the womb.
Ravazzolo adds: "Prevention begins even before birth - with the mother. It is important to eat a varied and balanced diet during pregnancy. Smoking, including passive smoking, can promote asthma and allergies." The best protection against allergies is breastfeeding. The WHO therefore recommends that newborn babies should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months. According to Ravazzolo, the more different foods a child gets to know in the first 365 days, the lower the risk of allergies developing. Avoiding certain foods (e.g. fish) has no preventative effect on the development of allergies - on the contrary. And: a healthy body weight of the child reduces the risk of asthma. "
It is therefore not only exposure to bacteria, but also other factors that determine how a child's immune system develops. You can find more information on the topic of preventing allergies in the brochure Allergy Prevention from aha! Allergy Centre Switzerland . Go ahead, get your fingers dirty by clicking on my author profile and following me.
I’m the cook, cleaner, police officer, nurse, entertainer, motivator, author, storyteller, coach, organiser, chauffeur, lawyer and judge. To put it simply, I’m a mum to a daughter and not just a (Content) Manager at the office but also at home.