> Some people in the anti-vax crowd believe in doing things like intentionally exposing children to chicken pox. Up here in the northern EU, where there's real

> Some people in the anti-vax crowd believe in doing things like intentionally exposing children to chicken pox. Up here in the northern EU, where there's really no discernible anti-vaccination movement, chicken pox isn't usually vaccinated against, since it's a very harmless disease when undergone at the correct age (2-13 or so?). The vaccination obviously exists, and I think it's sometimes recommended for people – particularly women – who have not had the pox in their childhood. I recall having intentionally been sent to play at a friend's house when he had it, and then ensuring my brother also contracted it. The idea isn't particularly revolutionary. I'm not sure whether your cultural examples really derive from disease avoidance (for example, I don't wear shoes indoors because it's simply not necessary for foot protection), but I suppose they could be – at least in that societies with such customs could have been more likely to make it through epidemics. I'd also worry about the youngish trend of ultrahygiene. Trying to disinfect everything and using antibiotics willy-nilly is counterproductive, especially for children who can't exercise their immunity by eating dirt every now and then. The best protection against disease is a good immune system.