4 ms·

You're probably being downvoted (I did upvote by mistake...) because the theory that being born in summer helps with allergies smells like BS. One thing I agre

You're probably being downvoted (I did upvote by mistake...) because the theory that being born in summer helps with allergies smells like BS. One thing I agree with, though, with no other data point than my experience, is that being in contact with allergens at a young age helps, or conversely that kids raised in sterile environments are more prone to allergies and have a weaker immune system. I'm born in winter, my siblings as well, we were raised in the country, had dogs/cats, didn't live in a very clean house and haven't found anything we're allergic to and get very rarely sick. But yeah, N=1

jrapdx3 10y ago
I can see why you might say it "smells like BS", but it's not entirely implausible. The parent referred to 2 elements: summertime birth, and "playing in the mud", both contrasted to being confined to indoor environment. "Born in summer" implies greater exposure to sunlight (in northerly latitudes) vs. winter birth. Sunlight induces vitamin D formation in the skin. Vitamin D is implicated in normal immune system development so low D levels in infancy could conceivably be a factor in later development of allergies, etc. "Playing in mud" suggests contact with organisms present in the natural environment. Deprivation of this exposure has been discussed (here on HN a few days ago) as the "old friends hypothesis". Basically the idea is that through evolution our immune system "outsourced" certain functions to co-evolving microorganisms. When contact with these "friends" is lacking our immune systems are compromised and abnormal hypersensitivities develop.
- r00fus 10y ago
  The logic fails me - why would it matter if your first 3-4 months are sun filled if the next 6 are snowy/rainy (repeat yearly)?
  - bobsoap 10y ago
    I believe the hypothesis is that age may very well play an important factor in the development of the immune system. What your body learns in the first 3-4 months of your life is not equal to what it learns during the next 6... It's moved on to other things. That's actually how the brain works. Once you form a habit, for example, you follow the developed pattern (now moved outside of the conscious level) without thinking about it much anymore. It's how people learn how to walk, talk, and basically do everything else they once learned in life with relative ease... It's the brain's method of freeing up resources for other, new things. It doesn't sound all that implausible to me that certain other mechanisms of the body might perform in a very similar way.

jrapdx3 10y ago

I can see why you might say it "smells like BS", but it's not entirely implausible. The parent referred to 2 elements: summertime birth, and "playing in the mud", both contrasted to being confined to indoor environment. "Born in summer" implies greater exposure to sunlight (in northerly latitudes) vs. winter birth. Sunlight induces vitamin D formation in the skin. Vitamin D is implicated in normal immune system development so low D levels in infancy could conceivably be a factor in later development of allergies, etc. "Playing in mud" suggests contact with organisms present in the natural environment. Deprivation of this exposure has been discussed (here on HN a few days ago) as the "old friends hypothesis". Basically the idea is that through evolution our immune system "outsourced" certain functions to co-evolving microorganisms. When contact with these "friends" is lacking our immune systems are compromised and abnormal hypersensitivities develop.

r00fus 10y ago
The logic fails me - why would it matter if your first 3-4 months are sun filled if the next 6 are snowy/rainy (repeat yearly)?
- bobsoap 10y ago
  I believe the hypothesis is that age may very well play an important factor in the development of the immune system. What your body learns in the first 3-4 months of your life is not equal to what it learns during the next 6... It's moved on to other things. That's actually how the brain works. Once you form a habit, for example, you follow the developed pattern (now moved outside of the conscious level) without thinking about it much anymore. It's how people learn how to walk, talk, and basically do everything else they once learned in life with relative ease... It's the brain's method of freeing up resources for other, new things. It doesn't sound all that implausible to me that certain other mechanisms of the body might perform in a very similar way.