3 ms·
I'd imagine you're merely trading sick now for sick later.
by azeotropic 7y ago
I'd imagine you're merely trading sick now for sick later.
- autoexec 7y agoNah, dirt won't make them really sick, but it will expose them to all kinds of bacteria which studies have shown could help prevent asthma, allergies, and other problems down the road if you expose them while they are young. I wouldn't recommend exposing a kid to every cold and disease you can just trying to get them sick, but playing in dirt seems to have benefits that spare them from reoccurring problems later.
- azeotropic 7y agoIf you're talking about first world street dirt I agree. If you're talking about ancient Mesopotamian city street dirt, I think you're asking for norovirus, dysentery, cholera, etc. Yes they had sewers and even pipes, but stormwater and sanitary sewers weren't separate and often relied on open ditches.
- paulryanrogers 7y agoCitation?
- autoexec 7y agoI'll admit "Cover your baby in filth to prevent illness" makes for some good click-bait,and parents are a vulnerable group for junk science, but it's an old idea and there have been studies with some promising results. I'm also encouraged by the fact that there's not a clear or direct financial benefit to any one company or industry by telling parents to expose their young children to dirt and animals. Here's some links on the subject: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8373690.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8373690.stm https://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749%2812%2900519-2/fulltext https://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749%2812%2900519-2... https://www.nbcnews.com/health/allergies/study-finds-more-evidence-animals-protect-asthma-n456116 https://www.nbcnews.com/health/allergies/study-finds-more-ev... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis