Community Chat

[newziesuzie]

It seems like there are more allergies today,
as well.

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Whole article is at the link.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/300350.php

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"When a newborn enters the world, a parent's first instinct may be to wrap them up in cotton wool and protect them from their environment.

But a new study suggests that the acquisition of four types of gut bacteria by 3 months of age may actually protect an infant from developing asthma.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the BC Children's Hospital in Canada, is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Since the 1950s, rates of asthma have increased significantly, affecting nearly 20% of children in Western countries. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 6.8 million children in the US currently have asthma.

Characterized by inflamed air passages, the condition temporarily narrows the airways that move air from the nose and mouth to the lungs. A child who has asthma is extra sensitive to certain triggers, including viral infections, allergies and irritating particles in the air.

To further investigate why asthma rates have risen so dramatically, the researchers - led by Prof. B. Brett Finlay - examined fecal samples from 319 children who were part of the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) Study.

Results showed that 3-month-old infants who were at an increased risk for asthma had lower levels of four types of gut bacteria, findings that could be used to develop a test for predicting asthma risk in children.

Babies typically obtain the four bacteria - Faecalibacterium, Lachnospira, Veillonella, Rothia (FLVR) - from their environments, but due to various factors, some do not.

According to Prof. Finlay, the study "supports the hygiene hypothesis that we're making our environment too clean. It shows that gut bacteria play a role in asthma, but it is early in life when the baby's immune system is being established."

In the human body, there are trillions of bacteria that play a vital role in our health. The so-called hygiene hypothesis proposes that changes in our lifestyle over time - to a more "hygienic" way of living - have resulted in decreased exposure to microbes that are important for our immune system.

When the team studied 1-year-old children, they also found fewer FLVR levels, suggesting the first 3 months of life are pivotal for immunity."

"This discovery gives us new potential ways to prevent this disease that is life-threatening for many children," says co-lead researcher Dr. Stuart Turvey, from BC Children's Hospital. "It shows there's a short, maybe 100-day window for giving babies therapeutic interventions to protect against asthma."

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[DoneTryin]

This kind of confirms what I've believed for a very long time.  The anti-germ obsession has gone too far.  We have immune systems ready to help our bodies fight off the bad stuff, but it can't work properly if it never "meets" the bad stuff.  This does not mean we shouldn't have good hygienic practices.  In my lifetime, I've touched thousands of public door handles, thousands of grocery carts, etc. & never got cooties.  I've even dropped food on my kitchen floor that I just wiped off & ate anyway - only for myself; I wouldn't serve the food to others.  What does usually get me sick is co-workers & others who come to work, or school, or the grocery store, when THEY are contagious.

[feline groovy]

Kids raised with pets/animals have not only stronger immune systems, but also less risk for asthma and allergies.

They also get priceless  emotional, cognitive, & spiritual benefits.  

[MaggieMack]

I have read a couple of books this year (latest is Good Gut by two Stanford microbiologists, H/W) that talk about the importance of birth canal births as opposed to C sections because the baby is bathed in everything it needs for a strong immune system on the way out. The Stanford couple had two babies by C section, no choice, and swapped both in the mother's lining after birth. They also recommend having pets in the household.

Although they didn't address the five second rule, haha, about eating food that has fallen on the floor, I do! 

[ROMARY]

Somebody somewhere, mentioned what I've been thinking all along:  Babies and youngsters should not wear clothes/(and blankets/sheets/pillowcases) washed in strong laundry detergents and strong dryer sheets. Too many strong chemicals and fragrances; not meant for babies/young children.  Just think of what those poor babies and their tiny lungs have to endure.  Lung disease/asthma/coughing/irritations, even on their tender skin.

[chickenbutt]

I never really evaluated WHY I had asthma as a child beyond the fact that some of the mother's husbands smoked.  Back then, and for all I know (but hope not) still, people would smoke in closed in spaces with kids - like in the car, etc.

I had it pretty bad.  I was a child a LONG time ago, though, so things might be different now for little ones.  I kind of grew out of it for a while.  Then, somewhere between 20 and 30 years ago, it came back with a vengeance.  I don't see it going away again at this point.

I agree that there are probably MANY elements!  Heck, I remember growing up and everybody seemed to use Tide laundry detergent.  Back then nobody would probably think about the effect it would have on those with even slight upper respiratory challenges.   I can't even spend time in a house that uses Tide without getting pretty sick!  Other things, too, especially strongly-scented products.

I use mostly scent-free products (for me, the bird, and the dog).  I do laundry the husband's clothes in a gently scented laundry soap.   But the rest of us need to stay away from the scents.

[SahmIam]

As an asthmatic for the past 20 years (I was an adult when it began), I'm going to cry BS on this. The same issues of "too clean" has been applied to food allergies as well, especially peanuts.

I grew up with animals and spent 4 months a year on the family farm; trust me, bare feet in the chicken coop, running across the cow pastures flinging cow pies at cousins and friends...yeah, germs were everywhere, lol.

My mother smoked; during her pregnancy with me, while she fed me, all the time...that was how it was and is still done by most in her family. She would smoke in the car driving us to school with the windows up.  Doctors believe this did damage early on to my lungs and bronchi tubes; trust me, I'm paying the price now.

I sit on two boards that deal with asthma; one for a children's hospital and one research group regarding adults. The highest number of children with asthma is found in major cities in the US and income plays a large role. Environmental factors  (location of factories, smog, water pollution, etc) are huge when it deals with asthma. I can't stand being in Denver...I can't breathe. Drive up the mountains away from the city and OMG, the difference.

There's a reason why asthmatics are advised to not open windows on poor air quality days and to run their AC; to use HEPA filter systems in their office/bedrooms and dust mites covers on their bed...if we didn't keep our homes clean, we'd be in big trouble.

IMO, this article is an attempt to shift away from the fact that industries world wide spew filth into the environment...poison in another form.

[Burnsite]

Hi, newziesuzie, I was hoping to see a thread about this.  My sister heard a report on NPR about childhood asthma that may have been about this same study but it emphasized two quite different things.  I was interested b/c I had a touch of asthma as a kid (exercise related, mostly).

As my sister related the NPR story she heard in her car, there are two factors a recent study correlated with childhood asthma and it wasn't a super clean environment.

Breast feeding versus bottle feeding:  Bottle fed babies have asthma more often; the idea is that the micro-organisms ingested with mother's milk protect the babies, whereas cow's milk does not.

And. . .

Antibiotics administered in infancy can destroy bacteria in the baby's body that are protective against the illness.  Antibiotic regimens are correlated with childhood asthma, too.

An earlier post I wrote was either swallowed or attached to another thread?  So here is an attempt to reconstruct it. 

It's second hand info but there may be more info on the NPR website about the study involved and the topic.

[151949]

I was born an asthmatic though they don't diagnose asthma in infants - my Mom said I coughed incontrollably and wheezed even in the hospital when I was born. Anyway, the doctor would tell my Mom she needed to carefully expose me to new things and if I got a reaction use the epi pen. But NOT to keep me away from each or every possible allergen or i would not build up my immune system.  Actually, I was a fairly bad asthmatic until I became a nurse and the exposures I had at work or the sealed environment seemed to help me. However, as a senior citizen my asthma has gotten worse and I now require a steroid inhaler daily to control it.The absolute best thing that has happened to me in regard to asthma is the banning of smoking in public places, and people in general have become more aware. I still struggle with people who wear too much perfume.

[newziesuzie]

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@SahmIam wrote:

As an asthmatic for the past 20 years (I was an adult when it began), I'm going to cry BS on this. The same issues of "too clean" has been applied to food allergies as well, especially peanuts.

I grew up with animals and spent 4 months a year on the family farm; trust me, bare feet in the chicken coop, running across the cow pastures flinging cow pies at cousins and friends...yeah, germs were everywhere, lol.

My mother smoked; during her pregnancy with me, while she fed me, all the time...that was how it was and is still done by most in her family. She would smoke in the car driving us to school with the windows up.  Doctors believe this did damage early on to my lungs and bronchi tubes; trust me, I'm paying the price now.

I sit on two boards that deal with asthma; one for a children's hospital and one research group regarding adults. The highest number of children with asthma is found in major cities in the US and income plays a large role. Environmental factors  (location of factories, smog, water pollution, etc) are huge when it deals with asthma. I can't stand being in Denver...I can't breathe. Drive up the mountains away from the city and OMG, the difference.

There's a reason why asthmatics are advised to not open windows on poor air quality days and to run their AC; to use HEPA filter systems in their office/bedrooms and dust mites covers on their bed...if we didn't keep our homes clean, we'd be in big trouble.

IMO, this article is an attempt to shift away from the fact that industries world wide spew filth into the environment...poison in another form.

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I don't think the goal is to shift blame because

they don't say this is the only link or possible cause

@SahmIam. 

😊