Why do so many people suffer from allergies etc these days?

[carbonhed]

The trufe will set you free.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...584241864.html

[Subike]

Nothing new there really. modern hygiene is often over the top when it comes to kids learning to play in the mud. Some of today's children are never exposed to anything other than a sterile environment from a baby, mother keeping kids too clean is a bigger health problem than letting them get dirty having fun in the back yard or sand pit.

[sinfull]

Interesting read there mate, cheers

[Geeen]

Kinda obvious really. But then I grew up on a farm....

[Ocean1]

Aye. Dirt sandwiches all round at playschool.

Never did me any harm...

[cynna]

i started getting hayfever about 2 years ago and this year got it really bad. to top it off i went to the dr today and found out ive got asthma - i thought i was jsut unfit

[SMOKEU]

Fuck being dirty, as I have no tolerance for people who have poor personal hygiene. It's disgusting and being exposed to other people all day long is bad enough as it is, as that's how disease spreads. If they're unclean then that makes things even worse.

[Asher]

I had always thought allergies were from immune system "malfunctions" where your body reacts badly to otherwise harmless things and has little to do with what environment you grow up in.

[pete376403]

like me when I was a kid, our kids grew up playing outside, there were always cats and dogs around, they have no allergies, asthma, etc at all.
This has nothing to do with bad personal hygiene, more like a very mild form of "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger"

[tigertim20]

We were born to mothers who smoked and drank
Our cribs were covered in lead based paint
No child proof lids, no seat belts in cars
Rode bikes with no helmets and still here we are, still here we are

We got daddy's belt when we misbehaved
Had three TV channels you got up to change
No video games and no satellite
All we had were friends and they were outside, playin' outside

It was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different world

School always started the same every day
The pledge of allegiance then someone would pray
Not every kid made the team when they tried
We got disappointed and that was all right, we turned out all right

It was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different world

No bottled water, we drank from a garden hose
And every Sunday, all the stores were closed

It was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different world

It was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different world
It was a different world

[Tigadee]

Asher - I think that's auto-immune dysfunction...

SmokeU - The gents talking about playing in the dirt are referring to children while they are growing up, not adults who should have already a fully-function immune system that has been widely exposed.

I think it's the screwed up sense of freedom we confer on our kids these days. Kids are allowed to sleep when they want, eat and drink what they want, watch as much TV or Youtube as they want, and yet we bubble-wrap them from the actual outside world.

Many a time I've debated with my wife about letting our kids just play outside, even if it's drizzling or raining. How are their immune systems supposed to get stronger sooner if we coddle them and protect them and keep them indoors?

Level of fitness also plays a role - being physical and strengthening one's body corresponds to how strong one's immune system is. Before I found out I was diabetic, I was lazy, over ate [still do!], often depressed, got stressed easily, tired easily, bad-tempered, constipated, sweated easily and caught every cold and cough that came within 10 feet of me.

Since then, I vowed I would be there for my epileptic wife and for our kids well into the future and started exercising regularly, lost 15 kgs, went down two sizes from XL to M, gained more energy, handled stress better, not so quick-tempered, seldom depressed and hardly catch any colds or coughs! Not to mention, my sex life improved but no need to go into details...

So being fit can help a lot for one's immune system...

[Daffyd]

I recall reading somewhere that kids should not be discouraged from picking their nose and eating the results. Apparently this boosts the immune system.

I believe the use of anti-bacterial soap is one of the culprits... it not only kills the bad bacteria but kills the good bacteria which kills the bad bacteria. Same deal with immunisation, but don't get me started on that one.

[Asher]

Welll..... from wiki:
"An allergy is a hypersensitivity disorder of the immune system.[1] Allergic reactions occur when a person's immune system reacts to normally harmless substances in the environment"
Sure playing outside may give you a stronger immune system but i cant see how that translates into less allergies.

[Tigadee]

Perhaps having more antibodies in your body helps? Or if your body is efficient in producing antibodies to counter many foreign matter, then it should be able to deal with allergens more easily too?

I'm just guessing here... For all we know, having a strong immune system may backfire if the immune system gets confused and starts strongly attacking the body [auto-immune disorder].

[Virago]

The trufe will set you free...

Bollocks.

There's always people who think they have "the simple answer" to complex medical issues. They're full of shit.

My 25-year-old daughter has extreme and wide-ranging allergies. She has Coeliac disease and wheat allergy. Extreme (life-threatening) allergy to beans / legumes, allergy to all sea food, fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, soy, seeds, all dairy products. She recently developed an allergy to eggs. Minor allergic reaction to many other foods. She has multiple contact allergies to many every-day products - latex allergy is so severe she actually blisters. She has multiple allergies to medications such and pain-killers and antibiotics. She suffers from chronic pain, as her body's immune system often turns on itself.

When she was first tested by a specialist allergy professional, she showed a substantial reaction to 37 of the 45 allergens tested.

The extreme life-changing effects of such allergies cannot be over-estimated. Those of us who help her deal with it can see it better than most, as we help her pick up the pieces of a shattered life.

I had always thought allergies were from immune system "malfunctions" where your body reacts badly to otherwise harmless things and has little to do with what environment you grow up in.

Bingo.

Many people have suggested that my daughter's allergies would have been brought on by excessively clinical hygiene as she grew up. Those members here who have seen our home (and lifestyle) may wish to comment on such - when they've stopped laughing.

Those others who suggest that such allergies are simply a middle-class self-indulgence can go fuck themselves. They don't know jack shit.

Extreme allergies are indeed caused by an out-of-control immune system, which goes into a vicious cycle of heightened and extreme response. When it goes to extreme, it is almost impossible to arrest.

There's usually a trigger allergen - often it's hayfever related. Once the extreme levels of histamines generated trigger the heightened immune response, it can go downhill rapidly.

My daughter's only option is to undergo long-term desensitisation. Basically regular (and very unpleasant) injections of multiple "trigger" allergens, which will continue for many years - without any guarantee of success. It's costing tens of thousands.