Dogs reduce allergies in kids
The benefit of mutts as pets
German researchers have apparently confirmed that keeping a dog as a family pet will reduce the chance that kids will develop allergies - a finding which backs a theory that having a mutt about the house "trains the immune system to be less sensitive to potential triggers for allergies like asthma, eczema and hay fever".
A team from the National Research Centre for Environmental Health in Munich, led by Joachim Heinrich, carried out a six-year study of 9,000 kids, Reuters explains. Parents "answered detailed questionnaires about possible allergic symptoms in their children, from birth to the age of six, and blood samples were also taken from a third of the group to test for antibodies to common allergens".
Heinrich confirmed: "Our results show clearly that the presence of a dog in the home during subjects' infancy is associated with a significantly low level of sensitization to pollens and inhaled allergens."
Significantly, children who had frequent contact with dogs but didn't have one at home lacked the same protective effect. The reason is unclear, but it's suggested youngsters may get "beneficial early exposure to germs carried into the house on the animal's fur".
The team's findings are published in European Respiratory Journal. ®
COMMENTS
WORMS
It's Worms, I tell you. Infants put everything in their mouth, and I'm sure they get worms from the house animals...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1632863.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4215234.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/sep/15/healthandwellbeing
My only allergy is to..
Ridiculous reports which pupport to be scientific fact.
Take your start point, set your target and then selct the evidence to fit your argument. Easy peasy.
Can I have a job as a Government adviser please.
Evolution
In the days of hunter gatherers the tribe that adopted dogs had the edge.
Ear and snout early warning systems to hear and smell threats way before their homosapian masters had woken up.
Lock on to prey like a AIM-9X Sidewinder greatly increasing the chances of a successful hunt.
Defend territory against threats be it a bear, lion or another tribe.
Even today the little buggers are sniffing out semtex suited suicide bombers. Or helping the blind live independent lives. And now we learn they offer immunity to asthma and other nasty allergies.
Dogs eh... don't ya just love em.
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