Article by Eleanor Black
The following are excerpts from the article 'Clean Freaks', published in both the Sunday magazine (15/11/15) and online (link to online article below).
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| Childhood exposure to bacteria has been proven to help protect us from eczema, asthma and other health problems. So why do so many households wage chemical warfare against microbes? |
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A small boy, new to kindergarten, climbs into the sandpit and
promptly loses the plot. Kept immaculately clean by his germaphobic
mother, he is regularly squirted with hand sanitiser and wiped down with
antibacterial wipes. Why is he crying? There is sand on his hands. The
same thing happens when he gets muddy in the playground. He just can't
cope with unclean, gritty hands.
While there is little more
affecting than a child who doesn't know how to play outside, the boy's
fear of getting dirty is also a health issue. If children are not
exposed to low levels of bacteria in their early years, their immune
system does not develop properly. Playing in the dirt, living with
animals and interacting with lots of other children is not just fun, it
is good for them.
But is this important message getting through to
the average Kiwi family – to the family of that little boy with sand on
his hands? Emphatically no, says Professor Mike Berridge, a research
scientist at Victoria University's Malaghan Institute, who has written a
book, The Edge of Life, about the widening gap between scientific discovery and public understanding.
"We
don't seem to realise that our health is very dependent on a good
balance of microbes," says Berridge. "Our whole lifestyle is aimed at
destroying that population of microbes. It's really important that we
recognise our biological heritage. We have almost got to the stage where
we think we are better than our biological system."
With a noticeable rise in standards of cleanliness in Western nations,
especially among more affluent people – a boon to producers of hand
sanitiser, bagless vacuum cleaners and antibacterial everything –
Berridge is among a host of scientists concerned that we are making our
homes too clean, almost sterile, in our attempts to create 'safe' havens
for our children.
It's not a new idea, but it is one that is rapidly gaining traction.
The hygiene hypothesis, which links a lack of early childhood exposure
to infectious microbes and parasites to a less robust immune system
later in life, was first mooted 25 years ago by Professor David Strachan
of the University of London. He found that children with older siblings
were less likely than their peers to develop hay fever – and that the
more older siblings they had, the higher their levels of protection.
Over
the years, multiple international studies have given weight to
Strachan's theory, to the point that it is now well accepted in the
scientific community, if not the wider population. It is believed that
childhood exposure to bacteria (delivered in small doses via outdoor
play, childcare centres and household pets) protects against eczema,
asthma and other allergies. It may also protect against type 1 diabetes,
inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular disease, some cancers, even
Alzheimer's disease...
"Sending kids outside, just exposing them to the normal environment, is
important. We tend to forget that our bodies are covered in bacteria and
if they are not kept in the right balance then the wrong bugs can take
hold."...
New parents are especially sensitive to pressure, both real and
imagined, to maintain homes that are clean, healthy temples. Anecdotally
we hear of industrious new mothers who swab the floors daily, disinfect
door handles, wipe the kitchen bench every time they pass by, and scrub
their hands to the point that their skin is chapped and their knuckles
swollen.
There are mums who ask visitors to take off their shoes
and wipe their feet before coming inside, then proffer the ubiquitous
hand sanitiser (developed for use by surgeons, by the way) before anyone
is allowed to hold the baby...
Read the full article via the link below!
Link to the article:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/well-good/teach-me/73955233/Clean-freaks-Has-our-obsession-with-cleanliness-gone-too-far
