Children And Covid

[MynameisLuca]

Exposure to germs in childhood is to help strengthen the immune system and protect children from developing allergies. So if everything is now clean and germ free how will they build up their immune system? Is this another pandamic coming down the line?

[jim360]

No.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis#Cleanliness

[Spicerack]

Didn't you bother reading your link, Jim?

[Mamyalynne]

I'm not sure that your statement of ' if everything is now clean and germ free' is necessarily true Luca.

People may be washing their hands more and being cautious but children will still play in mucky places,stroke pets and eat stuff they have dropped - just a few examples.

[emmie]

no, the little tykes will get into all sorts of bother and one can't stop that.

[barry1010]

Strange how so many children died back in the good old days compared to today, though, if they had built in immunity. And that immunity couldn't last because the elderly are so much more likely to die from flu today.

[ummmm]

When were 'the good old days'

[barry1010]

Back in the mists of a fuzzled memory, ummm, easily seen if you put on your rose tinted spectacles.

[ummmm]

Lol...I thought so.

[jim360]

I read it quite thoroughly, spicerack. In particular, the sentence about "Infectious diseases continue to exert a heavy health toll. Preventing pandemics and reducing antibiotic resistance are global priorities, and hygiene is a cornerstone of containing these threats." -- which is, perhaps, a little out of place in an encyclopedia, but more or less makes the point.

I was going to write a longer post, but didn't have the energy. In any case, history should teach us that diseases flourish when hygiene standards are poor or dismal, and it therefore seems odd to suggest that a drive towards greater cleanliness*, etc, should increase the risk of a pandemic spreading.

*Another point the link makes clear is that "clean and germ-free" is a little misleading anyway: "The idea that homes can be made “sterile” through excessive cleanliness is implausible...".

[Peter Pedant]

yeah or no
there was a letter in the Times from a paed ( baby doctor) with exactly this in mind

we have cleaned up society that children are now underexposed ..... etc

and my first response was that crazies are obviously not limitied to people on AB. He - the good doctor - must have missed the lecture at med sch on child mortality from infection in the C19

we are all entitled to our view
BUT as the Fiji showed ( no measles vacc ( dangerous see ) and then measles = 160 dead babies )
people can give advice that the less intelligent may follow

( Andrew wakeford ex doctor and author of the measles vacc disaster ) commented of Fiji - the parents decided not to vaccinate their children - nothing to do with me

heavens that is a senior doctor taking responsibility for his advice !

[ichkeria]

“ So if everything is now clean and germ free how will they build up their immune system?”

The issue with this particular pandemic in particular is it’s a new virus so it doesn’t matter how “germ free” you are, you won’t have immunity to it

[ichkeria]

I should have said “how many germs you are exposed to”

[Peter Pedant]

seriously discussed here

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1448690/

( Reminds me of R D Laings psychiatry - they arent really mad - they always wanted to be like that)

[Peter Pedant]

// "Infectious diseases continue to exert a heavy health toll. Preventing pandemics and reducing antibiotic resistance are global priorities, and hygiene is a cornerstone of containing these threats." //

the short for that is:
clean water and vaccinate and you can close the Hospitals

[ElanaWeeks]

More hand washing and sanitizing won't stop kid from pet animals and eat what the find on the ground so nothing so big to worry about.