3 ms·
I agree you should not try to live in a clean room, and you shouldn't be worried about being exposed to normal amount of germs. When you say "exposure to diver
by tux3 5y ago
I agree you should not try to live in a clean room, and you shouldn't be worried about being exposed to normal amount of germs.
When you say "exposure to diverse mild pathogens actually makes your immune system less dangerous to the self", I suspect you're referring to the hygiene hypothesis that has become part of popular culture.
It's important to know that that hypothesis, nowadays, is about early exposure to benign microbes. Meaning from in utero exposure to early childhood at the latest.
I have seen no evidence that voluntarily exposing yourself to pathogens is a good idea. The point to my post was that you shouldn't understand the immune system like an RPG element that needs training to level up.
Please do get vaccinated for relevant diseases, but I would not go too far in the direction of treating your immune system like a safe thing to play with.
- freen 5y agoThere is strong evidence that young children in congregate daycare have substantially stronger immune systems than children cared for at home who are only exposed to family members.
- tux3 5y agoCould you link to that strong evidence? A lookup of systematic reviews on Cochrane & Epistemonikos paints the opposite picture, with a positive correlation between daycare attendance and respiratory tract disorders or asthma.
- dr_dshiv 5y agoYou got it: Roslund, M. I., Puhakka, R., Grönroos, M., Nurminen, N., Oikarinen, S., Gazali, A. M., ... & ADELE research group. (2020). Biodiversity intervention enhances immune regulation and health-associated commensal microbiota among daycare children. Science advances, 6(42), eaba2578.
- tux3 5y agoThank you! Interesting to see an intervention trial. n=75 is what it is, given the possible confounders (could not control home environment, etc) but I'll be interested to read that in more details =)
- rpmisms 5y agoI ate dirt as a child. Dirt is natural, healthy, and as long as the shit in it is broken down, pretty much harmless. I have a great immune system to this day. My little brother, who spent his early childhood in the city, is nowhere near as robust, and gets sick frequently. Just some anecdotal early-exposure advocacy.