h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It's recently been suggested that a contributory cause to the increase in asthma is too hygenic an environment during early childhood. The reasoning goes that the overly hygenic environment/food results in a less developed immune/alergy system.

So, apparently, your Granny was right - there's a whole bunch of goodness in a peck of dirt

;^)#

I'll have to disagree with that one. I lived my youth in a family of slobs, with dogs running amuck in the house, and I had a horrible athsma condition. Luckily, like the man who was turned into a newt, "I got better," but my attacks were so bad that I had to be rushed to the hospital almost nightly.

Well, I don't know that they actually meant that there wasn't such a thing as too much dirt either

It's a theory about one of the possible causes for the incredible growth in numbers of asthma sufferers.

;^)#

From what I heard, some cases of severe allergies and asthma were suggested to be connected to the lack of exposure to minor childhood diseases, and to certain kinds of common soil bacteria that would otherwise help the immune system to balance its responses to foreign substances properly.
I think there may well be something in it, but I doubt it's the whole story.
Presumably, if children are kept indoors and away from sources of dirt more than they used to be, they'd tend to be kept away from sources of exercise as well. Add the fact that lots of people don't really walk anywhere anymore, and I think that's probably another part of the answer. I'm sure there's also a great deal of sense in the old idea about keeping houses well aired.


Additionally, referring to the article, I thought the airways actually *constricted*, rather than just becoming inflamed, though I don't doubt there may be inflammation as well.

*wheeze....wheeze...wheeze...*