Allergies Not Related to Being 'Too Clean'

Allergies Not Related to Being 'Too Clean' PR Newswire MADRID, November 30, 2012 MADRID, November 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- New report from leading academics calls for sensible, targeted approach to hygiene, to protect us from infection In a scientific report being presented today at the Excellence in Paediatrics Conference, Madrid, academics from the [1]International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene (IFH) call for a radical change in how we think about cleanliness and hygiene in the home. The report dismantles the long-held 'hygiene hypothesis', which suggested that keeping our children 'too clean' may in fact lead to an increase in allergies: and while it agrees with the concept that we need exposure to some types of microbes to regulate our immune system, it challenges the idea that this must include the germs that cause infectious diseases - the notion that children who have fewer infections because of more hygienic homes are more likely to develop asthma and other allergies. http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121130/579611 The IFH report , entitled 'The hygiene hypothesis and its implications for home hygiene, lifestyle and public health', reviewed evidence that has come to light over the last 20 years, since the 'hygiene hypothesis' was first proposed.