Allergies, Asthma , Eczema and the developed West

[Arrowfoot]

When I began travelling overseas for work in Asia and Latin America I was surprised that the locals did not have allergies to the extent that we have.

Today's article on another allergy related death brought those times spent overseas back to mind. In this case it was a healthy sandwich.

Here is a 2011 article on the possible reason, in essence "Microbial deprivation". In simple terms exposure to germs when consuming food and playing outdoors on dirt, playgrounds etc. https://www.nature.com/articles/479S2a. Opening up of Eastern Europe and the merger of East and West Germany allowed studies which clearly showed that the prevalence was in the developed countries.

I have since asked relatives with young kids to let them to enjoy the outdoors, eat a wide variety of food until the immune system has been built. They can then make their life choices such as going vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian etc.

Anecdotally I know of young schoolmates whose parents were selective of food choices and were carefully about playing in dirt (as in lawn, sand pit etc) and eventually developed allergies while very young. And these allergies had lower correlation to the lower income strata of society. A first world disease?

Food for thought, no pun intended. Just concerned the rise of deaths that are allergy related.

 

[Slick]

This has been well known and reported on for some years now. We are too clean yet we still need told how to wash our hands singing happy birthday.

 

[a.twiddler]

So, we've become accustomed to a standard of hygiene which doesn't allow kids to experience things that help to strengthen their immune systems? Perhaps the natural state for humans is to to actually have intestinal parasites, body lice etc, and to ingest things that will make them mildly ill without killing them. The problem is, that during most of human history, it's been accepted that there will be a high rate of infant and child death or disability from things that are entirely and simply preventable today. Clean water and vaccination have been put forward as major factors for this.

Striking a happy medium between keeping the majority of the population healthy while giving opportunities for children to play in the dirt and eat unexpected substances is not so difficult. Do kids make mud pies nowadays? Then, because it looks like a pie do they eat some of it? Do small kids left to play on their own still dare each other to eat an earthworm, woodlouse etc? When mine were small they found mud and mess irresistible, and I think it would take some superskills to stop kids doing that so I can only assume they still do.

Causes previously put forward range from central heating to carpets but no definitive solution has been confirmed.

Referencing a 2011 Nature article is hardly up to date research, and a 2017 case in the Daily Mail would lead me to question the facts in anything they published. The cases they refer to though tragic and potentially avoidable don't amount to an epidemic. There are no real lessons for the world here. No new information has been offered. Anecdotes are not evidence, though most of us will know someone who carries an epipen due to a potential allergy. Because it is something highlighted in the Mail, does not mean that it is on the rise. Think cyclists and red lights for example.

From Allergy UK:-
The prevalence of allergic systemic reactions is between 0.3-7.5 percent in Europe while in the USA, it is 0.5-3.3%. Allergic systemic reactions are less common in children, ranging from 0.15-0.8% (Pawankar R, 2013) There are no precise figures on the prevalence in childhood.

 

[cougie uk]

This has been well known and reported on for some years now. We are too clean yet we still need told how to wash our hands singing happy birthday.

You've forgotten the pandemic already?

 

[Slick]

You've forgotten the pandemic already?

Nope.

 

[classic33]

Worst allergies* I have are with common medications, having to be very careful what's taken/used. Others take these almost everyday with no trouble.
For me the effect can be instant, or within an hour or two.

On the upside, there's fewer colds, never had flu, and many of the other allergies that others report.

I did have a childhood spent playing outside, in an area now considered unsafe to play in. To me there's been little change, but we still seal ourselves inside, with very little getting in from outside. A more modern thing in my opinion.


*Some are interactions with medication that has to be taken, but no way of knowing for certain. Just avoid them.

 

[I like Skol]

We live like tramps at Skol towers and all have a robust immune system

 

[I like Skol]

No, really. Me and my boys are happy to sh1t in the woods. Cook burgers on the bbq after fixing the car without washing our hands and drink water from a clean stream (Eeeuuuuw!, not bottled water?). Obviously, we won't eat at McDonalds, you have to draw the line somewhere.....

 

[PK99]

We were still sterilising the bottle for crawling DD1, when doing some work in the garden one day and we looked down to see DD1 eating a handful of soil. We stopped sterilizing!

 

[a.twiddler]

Ancient as I am, I've lived in many places in the UK and abroad but they've all had an indoor bathroom and toilet facilities. When I was a kid we had a bath once a week whether we needed it or not, and this continued as an adult. When I had a house with a shower it became a daily routine to shower and that has continued. Looks like I've been doing it all wrong!

For many years I enjoyed basic Youth Hostels and simple camping. There's something liberating about having basic facilities and even taking a dump in the woods (the breeze round your legs, the frisson of fear that you might be disturbed) but you wouldn't want to live like that all the time, though in many parts of the world people have no choice. With all the technology that comes out of India for example, practically everyone has a mobile phone but only about 50% of the population has access to an actual toilet. Many places on the planet are probably in the same situation. I think allergies are amongst the least of their worries.

 

[Milzy]

I don’t know but my little story is childhood asthma got better as I aged. Started running and it improved apart from cold damp air. Started cycling & now not even cold damp air sets it off. Just disappeared.

 

[byegad]

Lady Byegad and I were talking about this the other day. Compared to our 50s upbringing, kids today are mollycoddled and not allowed to get filthy while out playing like we did. I know that's a generalisation but never-the-less true in many cases. We see kids ferried to our local school in the car, it's five minutes walk away and the local roads are not that busy, at least they wouldn't be if there were no cars blocking the road outside the school and causing a hazard for everyone!
Meanwhile our neighbour has so many 'fresh air' plugs smelling out their house that, when they open a window we can smell the loathsome things.