so what is your opinion on the 'new' report that there are so many allergies because parent are too clean?

[raggedtrouseredphilanthropist]

Cos I think its a load of rubbish, but I wondered what everyone else thought. I most certainly was not overly clean with ds - we had 2 dogs, and lets just say housework isnt my favourite thing to do, and I NEVER use antibacterial cleaner as I think its just wrong!
I think ds is allergic, with eczema, as I have asthma and allergies and his dad has very mild eczema. Its in his genes. But of course, not all cases are like ours..
Does anyone think they may have a point, or, like me, do you think its more genetics or something else.

Niether myself or my 3 dc have any allergies, I am a tidy person, but not particulary clean, my motto is, if it looks clean it will do, sod the bleaching and disinfecting.

So this is why we need those boffins right? Because some of us (ie me) have homes that aren't very clean and our children have the unholy trinity of allergy-asthma-eczema etc. And some of us live in wonderfully pristine Dettol-ated palaces with children who are mercifully allergy free.

I suppose I just want someone to tell me if I should be exposing DD to potential allergens since there is such a history of atopic allergy in both my family and DH's. Gah!

dilly, do a search. This research was on the national news a couple of weeks back. It has been going on at Dundee University in collaboration with other unis for 2+ years now. I found the quickest article I could and linked to it.

re "unknown interaction", edam. Scientists actually believe they have found the reason. A gene which produces a protein called filagrin except in atopic people filagrin is not produced and as a result atopic people's bodies react against all sorts of things which are not really harmful to us at all.

I will find a better article to link to that is more readbale.

ok latest most interesting research into reason for eczema/asthma/hayfever

This is really interesting stuff. Completely ridiculous that you disregard it, dilly.

Thanks, pointydog.

I personally think this is an utter load of crap. My ds 4 is allergic to eggs and has excema. My house is definitly NOT the cleanest so this has nothing to do with why he allergic to eggs

oh, not the bloody hygeine theory again.....................if you understood it all, to avoid your children having allergies you have to live in close quaters with a large farm animal..........but not a pig.

pig farmers have a high incidence of asthma, compared to other farmers..........

so roll around in cow poo..............lets stop the allergies.

no thanks.

what about the diet changes for infants in the last 100 years?

why dont they go on about the damage that has done to our mothers , and their odd raised histamine levels after being fed evaporated milk and millet in bottles from day one!

God, my house is disgusting, there's no way over cleaning has given my DS allergies!!!

I think there is some truth in it, although we know there is a strong genetic link it does seem to have some sort of environmental 'trigger'.

Both DDs developed 'allergy to plasters', DD1 an allergy to an unspecified additive and myself to a commonly used chemical in the space of a month. During the same month my latex allergy moved onto the next level and DD2s Coeliacs became suspiciously worse. Hayfever, asthma and excema remained unchanged though.

I can only think there had to be an environmental trigger, but don't know what it could be. Would really like to know though!

I love the idea of muck helping, but I know I wasn't any cleaner that month than usual - and not usually that clean anyway!

pointydog I am sorry but again you have not linked to the actual research with statistics, tests and data of findings. This is an article and again I have to reserve judgement of findings until research is carried out on a human large sample. Animals do not always behave as humans do. This research is being carried out on mice, although its a good starting point it needs much more enquiry/investigation.

The way you are looking at this is very much how people viewed the Wakefield study into MMR which is neither a valid or reliable piece of research. As a consequence many people jumped on the anti MMR band wagon which was unnecessary and did far more harm to children than MMR.