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I'm a little freaked out that my baby is turning 1 year old and has never caught a cold or had any kind of sniffles, because we've been so isolated. Surely I'm

I'm a little freaked out that my baby is turning 1 year old and has never caught a cold or had any kind of sniffles, because we've been so isolated. Surely I'm supposed to be exposing her to germs to build up her immune system or something?

pertymcpert 6y ago
Are they not putting all sorts of stuff in their mouths around the house yet? It’s not germ from other people, but my little one does stuff that disgusts me, but I’m too tired to always stop it.
- bonniemuffin 6y ago
  Oh, yeah, she eats dirt, kisses the dog, and licks the pavement at the playground for some reason, so she's definitely getting exposure to a wide variety of nature's finest "germs", just not the sorts of human-infectious sniffling diseases that circulate in day cares and schools.
  - tolbish 6y ago
    I suppose you could find what you are looking for by checking out the health data of homeschooled children compared to non-homeschooled children.
  - nyokodo 6y ago
    Her immune system is getting plenty of work. She’s just not getting the viruses that are really good at evading the immune system. What doesn’t kill you does not necessarily make you stronger. She’ll get them when she’s a little older and her immune system is a little stronger and she’ll be fine.
nradov 6y ago
You can read up on the hygiene hypothesis. There are still a lot of unknowns. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis?wprov=sfla1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis?wprov=sfla1
- dehrmann 6y ago
  I also include effects of long-term use of face masks as an unknown.
refurb 6y ago
Not sure I’d be too worried. It’s not uncommon for kids who stay out of daycare for the first 2 years to catch up pretty quickly once they start getting exposed to other kids. My sister in law’s kid had made 1 or 2 minor colds by age 2, then went to daycare and was sick for about 3 months straight. Depending on your situation, it might be even lower than that if nobody in the household is interacting with members of the public.

pertymcpert 6y ago

Are they not putting all sorts of stuff in their mouths around the house yet? It’s not germ from other people, but my little one does stuff that disgusts me, but I’m too tired to always stop it.

bonniemuffin 6y ago
Oh, yeah, she eats dirt, kisses the dog, and licks the pavement at the playground for some reason, so she's definitely getting exposure to a wide variety of nature's finest "germs", just not the sorts of human-infectious sniffling diseases that circulate in day cares and schools.
- tolbish 6y ago
  I suppose you could find what you are looking for by checking out the health data of homeschooled children compared to non-homeschooled children.
- nyokodo 6y ago
  Her immune system is getting plenty of work. She’s just not getting the viruses that are really good at evading the immune system. What doesn’t kill you does not necessarily make you stronger. She’ll get them when she’s a little older and her immune system is a little stronger and she’ll be fine.

nradov 6y ago

You can read up on the hygiene hypothesis. There are still a lot of unknowns. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis?wprov=sfla1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis?wprov=sfla1

dehrmann 6y ago
I also include effects of long-term use of face masks as an unknown.

refurb 6y ago

Not sure I’d be too worried. It’s not uncommon for kids who stay out of daycare for the first 2 years to catch up pretty quickly once they start getting exposed to other kids. My sister in law’s kid had made 1 or 2 minor colds by age 2, then went to daycare and was sick for about 3 months straight. Depending on your situation, it might be even lower than that if nobody in the household is interacting with members of the public.