pets

Allergies and Asthma: Dogs, Bacteria and Dust, Oh My!

January 29, 2014 by James Bogash

probiotics, dogs and allergies — Probiotics and pets help fight off allergies

The first 2 years of your child’s immune system are the most critical. Breast feeding, pets in the home, antibiotics, vaccinations–all these play a roll in the rest of your little one’s life.

Let me amend that–the prior 9 months before the two years start are equally as important.

Either way, the immune system does not come fully programmed; rather, it needs to be tamed by teaching it to attack what it is supposed to attack and recognize as friends our own tissues. The gut plays a large role in this process since 2/3 of immune cells interact with the gut at some point in their life cycles.

This is why having the right bacteria is so critical as is avoiding antibiotics unless absolutely critical. Antibiotics decimate the bacteria in our guts that can take years to re-balance.

As an animal lover, currently housing a near-zoo consisting of a salt water tank, three small fish tanks, 5 dogs, 3 lizards and a bearded dragon (which is actually a lizard as well but seems unique enough to warrant it’s own category), I think that having pets for children is a good idea anyway and teaches many lessons in life. Beyond that, there has been research supporting the fact that when children are exposed to animals at a very young age (that “under 2” thing again) the risks of developing asthma and allergies is lower.

This falls under the “hygiene hypothesis,” where our increasingly sterile lifestyles are not training our immune system for challenges. This lack of training leads to the development of immune system disorders. With this in mind, I think the way this particular article brings all of this together is just short of awesome.

Keeping in mind that this was a mouse study, there is no reason to doubt that the same pathway works in us. Here’s how it goes:

Dogs carry dust into the household.
This dust then has an effect on the bacteria in the gut, increasing levels Lactobacillus johnsonii, which has been shown to tone down allergic inflammation in the airways.
This results in reduced Th2 cytokine production, fewer activated T cells.

Wow. Talk about a convoluted web! Either way, this study really strongly reinforces the hygiene hypothesis, showing that it requires dirt, dogs AND bacteria for the full beneficial effect.

Planning on Having a Healthy Baby? You Need Pets for Kids

August 29, 2012 by James Bogash

Every couple plans on having a healthy baby, but somewhere we get sidetracked. It is pretty clear that you need pets for kids to keep them fully healthy.

And it’s not just about lessons on loving and losing a family member. Or why we should not torment Rover with the push bubble mower. Or just why that ear really should remain attached to Fido’s head.

Somewhere, sometime our public health officials and the government decided that there needed to be an attempt to sterilize all aspects of our lives, beginning at birth.

It begins with immunizations when the newborn is minutes old (yes–because that newborn will soon be doing IV drugs and having unprotected sex–hence the need for the Hepatitis B vaccination in the delivery room). This is further compounded by wanton use of antibiotics destroying the normal, protective bacterial flora. Add in anti-bacterial everything and you’ve got a recipe for allergies, asthma and an overall dysfunctional immune system.

So where do pets fit in?

We already know that pet owners with chronic health conditions (like high blood pressure or heart disease) live longer than non-pet owners.

Pet ownership clearly has other, not quite definable, benefits to our health.

In kids, pet ownership has been shown to slash allergy rates in half.

This particular study takes the knowledge base further. Researchers looked at how exposures to dogs and cats had an effect on respiratory and other infections in a child’s first year of life. The results were pretty promising for us animal lovers:

Children having dogs at home were 31% healthier when it came to infections than children without dog contacts
Children with dog contacts at home had 44% less ear infections
The dog exposure group used antibiotics 29% less
Overall, both the weekly and the yearly contact with dogs and cats were associated with a lower risk of dying from a respiratory infection

Sounds like a visit to the pound may be a very smart decision for your child’s health.

So what other benefits have you found from having a pet in your household?

HOW DOGS CAN HELP HEART PROBLEMS

April 27, 2012 by James Bogash

As an avid dog owner my entire life, I can attest to the fact that animals have a calming influence on us. Except, that is, when you return home and find your favorite couch in tatters. Many are sure that this calming influence has to be good for our health, but how can dogs help heart problems?

Stress is, without a doubt, one of the most devastating situations that we can put ourselves into. Because of this, anything that can calm our stress levels will likely have long term benefits.

In this particular study, researchers knew that pet owners had greater survival rates than non-pet owners if they already had diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol, so they looked at how well the heart functioned in pet owners.

They looked at heart rate variability, a marker used to determine the cardiac health of the patient and found that pet owner’s hearts were much more responsive than non-pet owners.

What more could you ask for??

INFANTS, PETS AND ALLERGIES–A GOOD COMBO

June 24, 2011 by James Bogash

Our ancestors were continually exposed to all kinds of infectious agents. Bacteria, viruses, dirt. You name it. There was no antibacterial hand lotion. No running water. No sani-wipes. Interestingly, as we have continued to live in a more and more sterile environment, under the mistaken idea that it is good for us, rates of atopic disorders like allergies and asthma have gone up. Why?

Our immune system needs to be trained. Just like our muscles it needs to be worked out. Especially as we are just starting out in this world as newborns and infants. The term is immunotolerance. The ability of our immune system to respond to what it is supposed to respond to and not respond to stuff it’s not (which also includes our own tissues).

Arguably the most critically time in our lives is up until about 2 years of age. After this point the immune system is a little more set in its ways. Thus, the exposure to healthy bacterial flora in the gut from vaginal birth, from nursing, from avoiding antibiotics to avoiding overuse of vaccination, contributes to the healthy development of our immune system. Also, I strongly promote the use of locally grown (must be local!!) honey to expose the developing immune system to local pollens, protecting against allergies much the same way pets do in this study. Of course, just to be safe, avoid the use of honey in infants under a year to avoid the low, but potential risk of botulism.

With all of these factors in mind, it should come as no surprise that this current study finds that exposure to cats or dogs in our first year of life cuts risk of being allergic to either dogs or cats by a whopping 50%. Interestingly, the protection was even greater (67% lower risk, if the child was born via C-section. Makes you want to go “Hmmm….”

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2222.2011.03747.x/abstract