Hypercleanliness may be making us sick

This is something I've believed for a while now.  In Japan, they are actually becoming MORE sick, not less because they are always using sanitizer, etc.

Germs are good for us just like it's ok to get sick and suffer through it.  You body adapts and gets stronger. 

My sister should thank me for forcing her to eat mud pies.  She's healthy today because of it.

There are some hypotheses that claim that food allergies and asthma are caused by the relatively sterile environment we live in.  Particularly in urban settings. Sure they are dirty, but only with a limited population of microflora.  You have a significantly higher microflora diversity outside of urban environments. 

There was an article on it a handful of years ago that also showed that asthma and food allergies essentially don't exist in 3rd world countries.  Of course, correlation does not equal causation and more study needs to be done, but right now, this is the prevailing theory.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnmMNdiCz_s

This ^^

I like to make my kids go rub up against other sick kids anytime they are around.

My kids rarely get sick.

My middle one has every allergy known to man though.  Sugar allergy is getting worse as we have eliminated foods with sugar.  It's like he gets more sensitive to it the less he is exposed to it.

I personally don't have a 5 minute rule. If I can still tell what it is, pick it up and eat it! I never wash my hands after the bathroom either.

Not really. I have felt this way for awhile myself though. I do not own any hand sanitizer. I don't keep my 18 month old son away from everything and scrub him constantly either. He's mostly healthy so far and I'm hoping it will keep his immune system strong.

I believe it as well.  We use no anti-bacterial products whatsoever....and no "sanitizers".  I don't think I've ever told my kids to "go wash your hands". We've never kept them away from sick kids. 

We're almost never sick.  We use normal soap and water around the house, everyone showers once a day, half of us are in a chlorinated pool at least 4 days a week....that's enough "cleanliness" for us.

It makes sense too.  The sanitizers, wipes, antibiotics, whatever, kill 99.99% of bacteria and viruses (may be more or may be less just for the sake of argument).  That 0.01% leftover may have a resistance to the chemicals / antibiotics that we use.

I hardly use antibiotics, or sanitizers.  I was my hands with good ole' fashion soap.  I did not get sick again this winter season.  Evening working at a university.

Now this isn't to say that that there isn't a place for these, they surly have their uses.  I think they are overused to the extreme though.

Getting my 8 year old daughter into the bath is a task in itself....

The peanut allergy thing however is allegedly related to peanut oil being used to oil manufacturing machinery - not sure what they used when we were kids probably diesel!

Have to disagree about asthma and allergies not existing in third world countries. I've spent most of my adult life in the developing world and there are plenty of kids with asthma, skin allergies, etc. A big risk factor for asthma in rural areas is indoor air pollution (esp. smoke from cooking fires) as well as severe pollution in urban areas. While there might not always be an asthma diagnosis and treatment for children living in poverty, one sees plenty of children and adults chronically hacking and wheezing. A diagnosis and an inhaler are pretty common for the wealthier children, local or not, that I work with in international schools.

As for food allergies, there do seem to be far fewer of the life-threatening ones you see so much in the States, even among fairly wealthy families. I have to wonder if in some cases this is less a matter of microbes in the environment or what kids eat (in reality, even poor kids in Asia eat some highly processed foods such as chips, instant noodles, etc.) than simple natural selection. In the absence of advanced, quickly accessible medical care, if the allergen is common in the diet, people with a severe allergy will be less likely to survive and have kids who might share that allergy. Or there may be some other genetic component to it.

My N=2 observation

Parents live in the same apartment in Hong Kong.  Dad has OCD and is a clean freak.  He wipes down utensils with alcohol wipes when go out to eat, and only eats at a handful of restaurants he trusts.  Mom goes about, takes day trips to China, generally "messier" than Dad.  Dad gets sick more frequently.

Thanks for your feedback on incidence rates in developing countries.  I was going off of a study (That of course I can't find right now) that shows the actual percentages.  Again, though, I did say correlation does not equal causation, and if what you say is true, that might be shooting a pretty good hole in that theory.

Yep. Some of us have had this anti-bacterial gel/soap talk before.

3 of my 5 were born at home and no I did not Clorox the tub while in labor so it would be sparkly clean.  I felt my kids would be immune to our environment.  While I do homeschool my kids are out more than most kids.  They never did the daycare thing though which I think is tough on little ones still developing immune system.

My kids don't even bathe daily - well the teenager does but probably only because he has a girlfriend (we are glad he does now BTW).  4 of my 5 children have never been to the doctor due to illness and never been on abx.  No, this does not mean they are suffering and I don't take them but I also don't take them at the first sign of an issue.

This is timely for us because this morning my 9 year old threw up.  First time in our house in over 6 years somebody has tossed their cookies.  However, because my kids immune systems are so strong they are good at ridding their body of toxins and even when they do get sick they get over it real fast.  I wouldn't be surprised if she was begging for her favorite food and asking to jump on the trampoline before lunch.

Oh and chickenpox parties still happen.  4 of my 5 got them and I am hoping #5 gets them as well.