Child illnesses

[Metastable]

This may seem like a bit of an odd question, and I know it is completely subjective, but here goes.

Do you guys find there are a significantly large number of young kids with things like allergies, cancers, asthma etc... in your communities?

I ask, because recently we've had a little one come into our lives and as my wife speaks with other women with young kids, it seems like there is an alarming number of kids with such problems here. Hopefully it is only here. Just for you to have an idea, of a group of 18 or so young ladies with kids who meet up on a regular basis, two of them have had older kids (2 years of age) die from cancer. Lots of them have kids with allergies or have to be careful when packing lunches because other kids in class have allergies to things like Peanut butter etc.

Just curious on your take down there, thanks.

[yungatart]

I understand that NZ has the highest rate of child asthma in the world....
We have 6 kids....3 have hayfever, 2 have secondary asthma. 3 have drug allergies,2 have food allegies/intolerancesa and I have severe hayfever and have in the last couple of years developed asthma as well.

[rustyrobot]

Our son has food allergies and asthma also. I have nothing to compare it to, but I believe NZ has always had a high asthma rate, although I don't even remember peanut allergies existing when I was a kid. There was an article in the listener a while ago about the rise of allergies in NZ, and they suggested that the rise in food allergies may be connected to an obsession with hyper-cleanlinesss read here. They also suggest that it might be connected to dust allergies (which account for a lot of what is incorrectly called "hayfever") read here. What they say tends to make sense to me. The rise in ultra-strong detergents and disinfenctants in everything from dish-cloths to fragrances to hand-soaps doesn't seem to have any correlation in a reduction in cold contagion, although corporate profits of S.C.Johnson Wax might show some sort of connected incline with the sales.

[crazyhorse]

Asthma has always been prominant in NZ, but cancer is probably just a fluke to have 2 out of 18 in your group with children who get it.

Congratulations on your addition, and may you have health and happiness through the years

[The Stranger:Me]

I understand that NZ has the highest rate of child asthma in the world....

I think that depends a lot on the definition of asthma.
All 4 of my kids were diagnosed with asthma. All 4 stopped getting asthma when we decided to try running a dehumidifier through the winter months. None have ever had asthma in the last 15 yrs. Was that really asthma? I don't think so, but hey, they're a part of the statistic.
We have run 2 dehumidifiers every winter since then, kids health is better and they more than paid for themselves with the saving in doctors bills.

[rainman]

No scientific basis for this, but my vote goes to it being all the shit we eat these days.

Bring back real food, I say.

[CookMySock]

None of my extended family, or their friends that I know of, have any such disability.

It must be horrible to have a kid with a serious illness. I don't know how I'd cope with that, and I feel greatly for those who have to.

Steve

[rustic101]

IMHO we have become soft as a Nation.

Fark as a child we use to do some shit that would either see our parents locked up or us taken into care lol. Its also what we eating, drinking etc. You can buy a can of soft drink cheaper than a bottle of water as an example, then again why not just drink it from the tap, o wait thats right they pour farking chemicals into it....

[scissorhands]

I have distilled water, wear a carbon filtered respirator when i ride bikes, a/c on and windows up in the car. Only in the country with no one in front or a good crosswind will I actually have the window down in the car, or ride without a mask.

Plenty of greens, yoghurt and sourdough breads if i do grains. Quite often i will go 3 days without meat, and have had the odd minor fast. Almost 20 years without a doctor except for wounds

[The Stranger:Me]

wear a carbon filtered respirator when i ride bikes, a/c on and windows up in the car. Only in the country with no one in front or a good crosswind will I actually have the window down in the car, or ride without a mask.

You're not serious are you?
You do realise that car makers long ago discovered people fall asleep at the wheel if they don't introduce "fresh" air into the car. ALL cars have this feature. It's not an option you can turn off.

[scissorhands]

Fresh (or polluted as the case may be!) does get in now and then. But even then a little will always get in. With vents off only seepage is thru door seals, etc.... so not much really.

I am serious though as I stupidly suffered from inhalation of toxic dusts in my 20's and got really really sick for a long time.... I smoked cigs for a long time after though, which wasnt too bright

Funnily since this illness, even today I have a sense of smell that is greater than anyone I know, I am like a dog, nosewise

[DIN PELENDA]

Noting wrong with my five kids, just my twins cant stop fighting, drive me mad, someone is getting hurt all the time, they are mad!!!!

[Metastable]

Some interesting posts in here. I thought some of the respiratory problems people were having here were related to the amount of Smog that often covers most of North America. When I have been to the Southern Hemisphere the air just looks cleaner. When you are looking into the distance, you actually have a clear picture of what you are looking at. Rusty, those were some very interesting links. We also think that over sanitation isn't exactly a good idea.

[soundbeltfarm]

i was meant to have asthma and 1 of my boys as well.
i was told to make yoghurt and eat some every day.
We also run a dehumidifier and run it down to 65% , no lower than this as ot makes the air too dry and dries nasal passages .
since eating yoghurt every day i will admit i feel alot better and so does my son.
whether it is because of the yoghurt i dont know but i not too keen on stopping it to find out.

[scissorhands]

Some interesting posts in here. I thought some of the respiratory problems people were having here were related to the amount of Smog that often covers most of North America. When I have been to the Southern Hemisphere the air just looks cleaner. When you are looking into the distance, you actually have a clear picture of what you are looking at. Rusty, those were some very interesting links. We also think that over sanitation isn't exactly a good idea.

Correct on smog, cities like Bangkok are famous for respiratory desease.

In NZ and Canada, the still valleys in full cloud are the main culprit, along with moisture.
The hills provide little air movement, the cloud is like a blanket thrown on top, and the moisture from a good rainfall area just makes it worse