A Dog May Be a Tot's Best Friend, Allergy-wise

1998 Views 6 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Betsy Iole, Feb 13, 2004

Betsy Iole

Discussion Starter · Feb 11, 2004

A Dog May Be a Tot's Best Friend, Allergy-wise

By Alison McCook

Monday, February 9, 2004

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Kids who spend their first year of life around dogs may have a lower risk of developing allergies, researchers have found. Having a cat, however, appears to have no effect on allergy risk...

Gern explained that he and his colleagues found that children who lived with dogs tended to have less eczema, a skin rash that often precedes asthma and allergies.

Moreover, dog owners were less likely to develop a protein involved in allergies, and tended to show higher levels of substances that may help the body resist allergic reactions.

Gern explained that dogs may help curb allergies better than cats because dogs tend to be dirtier, and exposure to dirt early in life may help kick start the immune system into fighting allergies...

SOURCE: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, February 2004

[ February 11, 2004, 10:44 AM: Message edited by: Betsy Iole ]

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Lilibetty71

· #2 · Feb 11, 2004

Thanks for the post. When we decided to bring a dog into the family, we had to fight the in-laws about having one near our baby.

, but having a dog with our baby was also very important to us for several reasons. To teach love and respect for animals, learning to care for another living being by taking care of all of their physical and emotional needs, and just how a pet can bring companionship and love into your life. Now we can add another reason to the list. LOL.

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Betsy Iole

Discussion Starter · #3 · Feb 11, 2004

Happy to be of service! (Also nice to know that *someone* reads the health forum.)

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Marcia

· #4 · Feb 12, 2004

Betsy, I read any and all posts on the health forum! I really appreciate your efforts! Don't stop!!

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Betsy Iole

Discussion Starter · #5 · Feb 12, 2004

Thanks for the kind words, Marcia!

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Sadie and Bentleys House

· #6 · Feb 13, 2004

Betsy -

Add me to the list. The Health & Genetics forum is a regular stop for me, even when I'm not otherwise active on the board.

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Betsy Iole

Discussion Starter · #7 · Feb 13, 2004

Thanks again!

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