Reply to: Allergies

[DoctorStrangelove]

Michael Mosely? Maybe

Yes, possibly him.

Does lots of daft things, so hookworm infection might well be on the agenda.

The one I quoted was on "Embarrassing Bodies".

[ladymuck]

Didn't that doctor chap with the documentaries on the BBC try it out?

I certainly seem to remember some programme or other that mentioned it.

Doctor Infects Himself with Parasite for Televised Experiment | TIME.com

Michael Mosely? Maybe

[DoctorStrangelove]

I've heard that too. No idea if it's a real 'cure' or something a beardy hippy came up with

Didn't that doctor chap with the documentaries on the BBC try it out?

I certainly seem to remember some programme or other that mentioned it.

Doctor Infects Himself with Parasite for Televised Experiment | TIME.com

[BrilloPad]

Too much cleanliness not bad for health, report on hygiene says | Society | The Guardian

Linked for the Guardian so the snowflake lefties don't get upset....

[ladymuck]

Apparently a hookworm infection can alleviate the symptoms of allergies.

I've heard that too. No idea if it's a real 'cure' or something a beardy hippy came up with

[DoctorStrangelove]

Apparently a hookworm infection can alleviate the symptoms of allergies.

[xoggoth]

Quite artistic those little bacteria. Better than Damien Hurst anyway.

[Zigenare]

Indeed....



Striking photo shows all the bacteria on an 8-year-old's hand

That kid's obviously not from Norfolk.

[ladymuck]

Indeed....



Striking photo shows all the bacteria on an 8-year-old's hand

That's a bit gross and a bit cool too

[greenlake]

A bit of dirt is good.

Indeed....

Behold some of the bacteria that grew when a boy who had been playing outside pressed his hand onto a Petri dish.

Striking photo shows all the bacteria on an 8-year-old's hand

[WTFH]

It's the same thing with MRSA - the more sterile the environment, the higher the risk that a bad muther***ker of a bacteria will get through.

A bit of dirt is good.

[greenlake]

We do live in less dirt now, I think, which gives our immune system less of a work out.

That reminds me of an article a few years ago....

According to an idea called the hygiene hypothesis, exposure to germs and certain infections — especially at a young age — actually helps prime the immune system so it can defeat these microbes more easily in the future.

Some research has suggested that the idea could partially explain why children who grow up around animals and in rural areas appear to develop conditions like asthma less often than children who don't.

What is the hygiene hypothesis? - Business Insider

[Old Greg]

Right wingers are allergic to truth and freedom of speech. That is a fairly recent development.

[ladymuck]

We do live in less dirt now, I think, which gives our immune system less of a work out. As NF says, there's also an element of better medical understanding and diagnosis which ultimately leads to awareness.

[NickFitz]

Trying to think of a an idea for a wedding cake-related story and was Googling allergies. Never heard of them when I was a kid, why have they become so much more common?

Forty years ago: "Poor kid choked on a nut and died."

Now: "Poor kid was allergic to nuts; throat swelled shut, and they died."

Medical science advances, and things once known only to medics become common knowledge.