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Health See other Health Articles Title: Dogs and Cats Can Ward Off Infections in Children Nobody likes seeing their children in pain, especially when they're still fragile little newborns, babies or toddlers. If your child has ever experienced the agony of an earache, you know how helpless it can feel as a parent trying to comfort your grumpy little one. However, a recent study published by the U.S. Journal Pediatrics has stumbled upon a rather unconventional preventative measure to help eliminate ear infections and respiratory problems in young children. Dogs and cats – although the effect is stronger with dogs – seem to protect babies from related infections. If your animals are outdoors for at least a portion of the day, they have the ability to boost your child's immune system in the first year of your child's life especially. This study was conducted by Kuopio University Hospital experts in Finland and involved 397 children. Parents were required to keep a diary entry each week, jotting down the state of their child's health throughout the first year of infancy, from nine weeks all the way to 52 weeks old. Overall, babies in homes with cats or dogs were about 30 percent less likely to have respiratory infectious symptoms — which included cough, wheezing, rhinitis (stuffy or runny nose) and fever — and about half as likely to get ear infections. … The most protective association was seen in children who had a dog inside at home for up to six hours a day, compared to children who did not have any dogs or who had dogs that were always outside. “We offer preliminary evidence that dog ownership may be protective against respiratory tract infections during the first year of life,” said the study. “We speculate that animal contacts could help to mature the immunologic system, leading to more composed immunologic response and shorter duration of infections.” Dr. Danielle Fisher of St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California also supports the notion that there's a “growing body of evidence that exposure to pets early in life can stimulate the immune system to do a better job of fighting off infection.” Kids who were reported to coexist with a dog in the home in the first year of their lives experienced 31 percent fewer respiratory tract infections than those who did not have a dog in their first years of life. Additionally, children with dogs present in their lives endured 44 percent fewer ear infections. The moral of the story here provides some good news for pet-friendly parents: pets are advantageous to children and may lead to better resistance to infectious respiratory illnesses through the duration of childhood, according to the European researchers behind this study. The increased exposure to dirt – brought inside from dogs – inevitably leads to more exposure to a variety of bacterium. This “over-exposure” help builds up a strong immune system in a growing human body and will undoubtedly benefit the child later in life. Pets have been long-renowned for their ability to help their human companions cope with depression, anxiety, and even lower their blood pressure. Now, science proves once again how helpful our furry companions can be, especially when it comes to starting a healthy, happy family. +10 Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 2.
#1. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
I've slept with dogs since I was a baby and very rarely have an infection. I think a lot of it has something to do with them licking you.
Turtle grew up and started sleeping with girls. Then he got all kinds of infections.
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