With pets in the home, our children develop stronger immune systems. This was revealed by a study conducted by Kuopio University Hospital, in Finland, and published in the trade journal Pediatrics, which explains how newborns living at home with animals are a third more likely not to get sick.
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Having a pair of whiskers or a wagging tail around the house is not only good for the heart and arteries, reduces the risk of contracting allergies and fights childhood obesity, but it can also lower the risk of getting infections for children, precisely because pets bring them into contact with viruses, bacteria and allergens.
That is how our little ones develop a stronger immune system. This was revealed by a study conducted by Kuopio University Hospital, in Finland, and published in the trade journal Pediatrics, which explains how newborns living at home with animals are a third more likely not to get sick.
Fewer colds, fewer ear infections and therefore less use of antibiotics. "Our results - explains the author, pediatric researcher Eija Bergroth - support the theory according to which, during the first year of life, contacts between children and animals are important, because they can induce a better resistance to respiratory infectious diseases. in childhood. It is also plausible to hypothesize that if the dog is often out of the house, he gets dirty more and, inevitably returning, introduces more microbes into the home environment that somehow end up with the stimulate the immune system of child".
In the research they were involved 397 children born in the eastern or central part of Finland between September 2002 and May 2005, followed since pregnancy. The frequency of respiratory symptoms and infections, information on contacts with pets such as dogs or cats during the first year of life, weekly diaries and questionnaires completed by families were analyzed. Based on these data, the researchers determined that only 35% of children had spent most of their first year with a dog e 24% with a cat.
Among them, however, was the 44% less likely to get infections, such as ear infections, and 29% less need for antibiotics. In short, children with pets by their side are healthier as they grow up. Still doubts about adopting a new furry family member?
Roberta Ragni
Read also:
- Dogs and cats reduce the risk of allergies in children
- Pet Teraphy: the dogs arrive at Bambin Gesu to "give a paw" to sick children
