Study: Farm Kids Less Likely To Develop Asthma
WICHITA, KAN. — Research shows that children who grow up on farms and in rural communities are less likely to develop asthma and allergies.
Dr. Thomas Scott of Via Christi Clinic in Wichita says the study supports an idea that people are over cleaning and using too many antibiotics, which is destroying microorganisms that help develop a healthy immune system.
Pollen from hay and crops, and airborne dust are common on farms and in rural communities; Dr. Scott says children in those areas see a lessened chance of developing asthma or allergies.
“You live in a rural area and you get exposed more to whatever is out in nature. Dirt, hay, whatever … people tend to do better,” Scott said.
The idea of how this works is based on the “Hygiene Hypothesis” where the thought that people destroying both good and bad microorganisms while they clean is making it so they cannot tolerate everyday contaminants, like pollen, because those microorganisms help develop a healthy immune system.
“Having natural exposures, you develop normally, but if you limit those exposures, then you risk having abnormal development of the immune response,” Scott said.
Click here to read the article from Via Christi on the study.
Source: KAKE