4 ms·

I've had eczema for 40 years. It's gotten much more manageable with age, but I'm still allergic to a few things, such as dogs. I'd much rather be alive and dog

by kijin 3y ago

I've had eczema for 40 years. It's gotten much more manageable with age, but I'm still allergic to a few things, such as dogs. I'd much rather be alive and dogless, than dead in the first year as was common before modern standards of hygiene. Modern life has bugs, but modern technology can help produce bugfixes. Perhaps in the next few decades it will become common practice to expose babies to a range of relatively harmless pathogens to train their immune system, just like we vaccinate them now against more deadly diseases. Perhaps as we learn more about our own gut flora, we will develop a way to add or subtract specific strains of bacteria to bring about a desired result, instead of eating random "probiotics" to hack the immune system in the dark. I'd be much more optimistic about such solutions gaining traction, both scientifically and commercially, than the prospects of telling everyone to go roll their kids in dirt. That's just the way modernity works. It doesn't like to stop and look back. It barges ahead, update after update, fixing bugs as it goes along.

jsnk 3y ago
And modernity sometimes ignores some obvious considerations. I am surprised that a long article attempting to find links between various manifestations of modernity to allergy, it fails to mention vaccine. The diet, exposure to pollutants, sun, level of cleanliness etc certainly has evolved over time. But none of these have changed as dramatically, become prevalent and directly alters our immune system like vaccine does. I don't know of any study that's been able to explain how vaccines may increase the risk of allergy. However, if we are to speculate about possible causes for allergy, it should be nearly at the top. And the omission of even a single mention is quite striking. The fact that we cannot even talk about something so obvious should pause some of us to wonder, what is it that is causing this kind of blind spot in modernity. And that should also lead us to ask who is trying to hide this for what reason.
- dontknowwhyihn 3y ago
  You said it better than I could have. Amazing how no one will consider how overstimulating the immune system might create autoimmune disorders.
- kccqzy 3y ago
  > The fact that we cannot even talk about something so obvious should pause some of us to wonder, what is it that is causing this kind of blind spot in modernity. It is not at all obvious to me. For one, the timing of the introduction of vaccines does not match the timing of the allergies becoming widespread. Or are you proposing that a specific vaccine could be the link? I've never heard of this before your comment. It certainly seems like a novel theory. Before trying to ask who is trying to hide this, why don't you propose or fund a study?
  - junofan 3y ago
    It’s not a theory that this area is understudied.
- throwawaysleep 3y ago
  Allergies are predominantly in Western countries, particularly North America. Vaccination isn’t.
  - linuxftw 3y ago
    Compare US childhood vaccination schedule with the 3rd world.
- DoingIsLearning 3y ago
  But are you sure you aren't just trying to be contrarian and fishing for data? Vaccinations were as early as the late 1800's and the first widespread programmes for yellow fever in 1930's. Most of the allergy/asthma incidence begins to spike in the 1970's. Excessive use of disinfectants, and excessive use of antibiotics is a much more likely mechanism. Antibiotic resistance was precipitated by excessive antibiotic prescription in both humans and the animals humans eat. coincidentally the increase in antibiotic resistance rising from the 1970's onwards is very much aligned with allergy anaphylatic reactions rise from 1970's onwards.
- linuxftw 3y ago
  It definitely can't be the immune system altering drugs we give to children in modern society, the likes of which have exploded in usage since the early 1990s. Nope, certainly not even worth mentioning here.

by kijin 3y ago

jsnk 3y ago

And modernity sometimes ignores some obvious considerations. I am surprised that a long article attempting to find links between various manifestations of modernity to allergy, it fails to mention vaccine. The diet, exposure to pollutants, sun, level of cleanliness etc certainly has evolved over time. But none of these have changed as dramatically, become prevalent and directly alters our immune system like vaccine does. I don't know of any study that's been able to explain how vaccines may increase the risk of allergy. However, if we are to speculate about possible causes for allergy, it should be nearly at the top. And the omission of even a single mention is quite striking. The fact that we cannot even talk about something so obvious should pause some of us to wonder, what is it that is causing this kind of blind spot in modernity. And that should also lead us to ask who is trying to hide this for what reason.

dontknowwhyihn 3y ago
You said it better than I could have. Amazing how no one will consider how overstimulating the immune system might create autoimmune disorders.
kccqzy 3y ago
> The fact that we cannot even talk about something so obvious should pause some of us to wonder, what is it that is causing this kind of blind spot in modernity. It is not at all obvious to me. For one, the timing of the introduction of vaccines does not match the timing of the allergies becoming widespread. Or are you proposing that a specific vaccine could be the link? I've never heard of this before your comment. It certainly seems like a novel theory. Before trying to ask who is trying to hide this, why don't you propose or fund a study?
- junofan 3y ago
  It’s not a theory that this area is understudied.
throwawaysleep 3y ago
Allergies are predominantly in Western countries, particularly North America. Vaccination isn’t.
- linuxftw 3y ago
  Compare US childhood vaccination schedule with the 3rd world.
DoingIsLearning 3y ago
But are you sure you aren't just trying to be contrarian and fishing for data? Vaccinations were as early as the late 1800's and the first widespread programmes for yellow fever in 1930's. Most of the allergy/asthma incidence begins to spike in the 1970's. Excessive use of disinfectants, and excessive use of antibiotics is a much more likely mechanism. Antibiotic resistance was precipitated by excessive antibiotic prescription in both humans and the animals humans eat. coincidentally the increase in antibiotic resistance rising from the 1970's onwards is very much aligned with allergy anaphylatic reactions rise from 1970's onwards.
linuxftw 3y ago
It definitely can't be the immune system altering drugs we give to children in modern society, the likes of which have exploded in usage since the early 1990s. Nope, certainly not even worth mentioning here.