At Connected Chiropractic, we LOVE dogs! We wanted to share an interesting study about dogs, and how they may be able to help decrease your infants allergies. If you want to learn how chiropractic care may help too, read THIS BLOG.
In the February, 2004 Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology they reports that children who spend their first year in life in a household with a pet dog have a lower risk of developing allergies.
Dr. James Gern of the University of Wisconsin-Madison studied 101 children who lived with a dog in the house and 84 who were raised with a cat in the house. In all cases, either the child’s mother or father had allergies or asthma.
The children who lived with a dog in the house had less eczema, which is often a precursor to allergies and asthma. They were also less likely to develop a specific allergy protein and showed higher levels protective substances that help the body resist allergic reactions.
Those children living with cats showed no lowered allergy risk at all.
What is the explanation? Dr. Gern say that early exposure to dirt tends to jump start the immune system in children. Since dogs tend to be dirtier than cats, they offer better exposure to dirt.
“Dogs are larger, and are more likely to lick you in the face compared to cats,” said Gern.