I have explored this idea in my research for a couple of decades now. This was interpreted that allergic disease was linked to experiencing fewer infections. German scientists noticed that families with fewer children tended to have more allergic disease. You mentioned the hygiene hypothesis, which was postulated back in the ‘80s. Are there any upsides to viral infections? Do they help the immune system in some meaningful way?
I think there’s some concern among parents who have heard about the hygiene hypothesis that there is a downside to all those stuffy noses that didn’t happen. This Q&A is adapted from Rivers’ Substack blog, Force of Infection. In this Q&A, Caitlin Rivers speaks with Marsha Wills-Karp, PhD, MHS, professor and chair of Environmental Health and Engineering, about the role of household microbiomes, birth, and vaccines in the development of kids’ immune systems-and whether early exposure really is the best medicine. Are there downsides to those missed infections?
We know that many common viruses did not circulate as widely during the pandemic, thanks to social distancing, masking, and other COVID mitigation measures. The hygiene hypothesis is the idea that kids need to be exposed to germs in order to develop healthy immune systems.
