Living On The Farm Protects Against Asthma

     For decades, the rate of asthma and allergies in children has been increasing. One reason for this increase is the “antibacterial” mood of our society. Products from laundry soaps to hand cleaners are designed to kill bacteria and we strive to make our environment more “clean”. It has long been suspected that our “anti-germ” mentality has actually caused our children to have more allergies and asthma. When most of our population lived on farms, children were exposed to many forms of bacteria and fungus that today’s urban children don’t encounter. There have now been many studies, including a recent one in the New England Journal, that show that the exposure to these germs gives children who live on farms protection from developing allergy and asthma.

     This most recent study compared children in Germany who lived on farms to those who lived in cities. Dust from the children’s rooms and mattresses were examined for bacteria and fungus particles and it was clear that the farm children were exposed to more germs and also different types of germs. The farm children also had less allergy and asthma than the city children. In fact, the more they were exposed to different types of germs, the lower their risk for asthma!  

     This brings up interesting possibilities of how we might now try to expose modern city children to more germs. Once again, maybe Grandma was right when she said, “ You have to eat some dirt to be healthy.”