Pets not only make our lives more beautiful by giving us pampering and love but they also help our health and that of the little ones. New research has highlighted how early childhood contact with pets in the home reduces the risk of developing allergies. And the more our 4-legged friends are, the better ...
- pets not only do they make our life more beautiful by giving us pampering and love but they also help our health and that of the little ones. New research has highlighted how early childhood contact with house animals reduces the risk of developing them allergies. And the more our 4-legged friends are, the better ...
This time, a review of studies published in PLoS One, conducted by Bill Hesselmar of the Swedish University of Gothenburg, confirmed what had already been reported in previous research.
The scholar wanted to analyze the data of two researches. The first took a sample of 1029 children aged 8-9 noting that the incidence of allergies was 49% for children who did not have pets and 43% for children who had lived with an animal in the house. The real surprise, however, was that the percentage dropped drastically to 24% if the children in the first years of life had been in contact with 3 pets. There were even 2 children who had lived up to a year of life with 5 animals and had not developed any type of allergy.
The second study had more or less the same results by analyzing the situation of 249 children of the same age as the first study (8-9 years). Those who had not grown up in contact with animals had developed allergies in 48% of cases, for children who instead had an animal in the house the percentage dropped to 35% while those who had been lucky enough to be together at home with 2 or more animals saw the risk halved to 21%.
Hesselmar is convinced that the advantages of contact with pets in early childhood are due to the fact that dogs, cats, etc. they are carriers of microbes capable of stimulating the immune system and thus avoiding the risk of developing allergies. According to the scholar, being outdoors and in contact with other children could also guarantee the same benefits.
So no more excuses to immediately adopt a dog, a cat or better yet both at home!
Read also:
- Dogs and cats reduce the risk of allergies in children
- Dogs lower the risk of childhood eczema and reduce asthma symptoms
- 10 great reasons to raise children in the company of pets
- Dogs and cats: Children who live with pets have fewer infections and are healthier
