Why are children so clean that they get sick?
Yang Guoping's Encyclopedia of Knowledge
Nowadays, after having a newborn at home, many mothers must do their homework every day is to thoroughly wash and disinfect their children's tableware, toys, and clothes. Some parents are still busy chasing after their children, supervising whether the children have eaten their hands, whether they have put toys in their mouths, whether they have climbed to dirty places... But is such a sterile or sterile environment really what children need?
How the immune system is formed
The immune system is the body's own defense mechanism and is the most effective weapon against the invasion of pathogens. The child's immune system begins to develop during the fetal period, and babies within 6 months have strong immunity because they have maternal antibodies. However, due to the imperfect development of its own immune system, around 6 months of birth, the child's immunity begins to decline. Generally speaking, before the age of 3, the child's immunity is the worst, after the age of 3, with the gradual development of the immune system, its function is gradually improved under the interaction with various external factors, the child's immunity is gradually enhanced, after the age of 6, the immunity gradually approaches adults, and tends to be perfect.
In particular, it is noted that breast milk has a significant impact on the development and function of the pediatric immune system, and breastfeeding must be strongly promoted. The child's immune system is gradually improved after being "violated" again and again in the process of growth, so exercising the child's ability to adapt to the external environment and timely vaccination play an important role in promoting and improving immunity.
Why coexist with bacteria and viruses
The existence of bacteria and viruses in the surrounding environment will do more harm to the human body than harm? Or does it do more harm than good? Why learn to coexist with bacteria and viruses?
Medicine has always advocated the "health hypothesis", that is, people grow up with pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses, and pathogenic microorganisms will make people sick, but it also contributes to the healthy development of the body's natural defense system and enhances the body's disease resistance.
Studies have found that the body's immune system is in contact with pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria, gradually form antibodies and immune memory. If your child is constantly in an environment that is too clean, the immune system will be suppressed. On the contrary, if the child is exposed to a large number of external substances, his immune system will treat these external substances as "old acquaintances" as early as possible, without rejection, thereby improving the body's adaptability.
Of course, letting children live in a "dirty environment" is not without a bottom line. There are a large number of bacteria and viruses in the surrounding environment, which are still more harmful than beneficial to human health, and what we should do is to seek advantages and avoid harms, and learn to coexist moderately with bacteria and viruses in daily life. First of all, do not abuse antibiotics, use disinfectants with caution. For example, for children's tableware, toys, clothes, etc., do not use disinfectant frequently. If disinfection supplies are stained in all corners of the home, not only will the balance of flora in the intestine be disturbed, but the residue of disinfectant is also easy to cause harm to the body.
Excessive cleaning can easily lead to allergies and asthma
The human body has two sets of immune systems: cellular immunity and humoral immunity. The humoral immune system is congenital and has been linked to immune diseases. The cellular immune system is slowly formed mainly after birth when exposed to external bacteria. If the child's living environment is spotless, the child has not been exposed to bacteria, dust, microorganisms and other allergens that should have been exposed to during normal growth and development, and the immune system has not formed an effective stimulus, and allergies will occur after contact with such substances.
In recent years, due to the improvement of sanitary conditions, the human living environment is too clean, and the exposure of children to pathogenic microorganisms has decreased significantly, resulting in a gradual increase in the incidence of asthma and allergies. New studies confirm that allergic rhinitis and asthma are associated with an imbalance in the proportion of immune Th cell subsets in humans. After birth, people can only develop a Th1 immune system with anti-infection function after exposure to bacteria, and the body itself has a Th2 system that regulates allergic reactions. Under normal circumstances, the Th1 and Th2 systems are in a balanced state, if infected with bacteria and viruses will stimulate the body's immune system to produce a Th1 response; if such infections are reduced, it will lead to a weakening of the body's Th1 response, while the Th2 response is relatively enhanced, the body is prone to allergic and allergic diseases such as allergic rhinitis, asthma, etc.
Tableware, toys, and floors should not be over-disinfected
Studies have found that 68% of diseases are associated with indoor pollution. These pollutants include both indoor air pollutants, such as sand, dust, ozone, etc., and building materials and decorative materials such as formaldehyde, benzene, etc., as well as daily necessities such as cosmetics, pesticides, disinfectants, detergents, etc. Some families with young children often use disinfectants to strengthen disinfection of tableware, toys, and floors, which will not only pollute the home environment, but also invisibly damage the immune function of children.
The World Health Organization has warned that antimicrobial disinfectants can make microbial resistance more serious. The American Medical Association is also calling on the public to avoid cleaning and disinfecting products containing antibacterial ingredients, because these products may be a source of resistant microorganisms, in fact, as long as the use of general soap and water can achieve the cleaning effect.
Cleansing & Healing Power
Excessive cleaning can damage your child's skin's ability to heal, why? Researchers in the United States have found that certain common bacteria on human skin can prevent human skin from becoming infected when it is harmed. These bacteria can suppress the body's overactive immune response and not swell the wound after injury. There is growing evidence that skin-to-bacteria contact is not entirely a bad thing, and that normal flora in different environments increase immunity, so excessive cleaning can damage the healing ability of your child's skin.
How to protect immunity
In daily life, how to protect your child's immunity? What should I pay attention to to make it less sick?
1. Breastfeeding – the first immunization of life
Breast milk contains a large number of immune substances, which can increase the immunity and disease resistance of the baby's body, and can prevent the baby from becoming sick due to the invasion of the virus. It can be said that breast milk is the first immunization in life, so don't miss the opportunity to breastfeed your baby.
2. Immunization and vaccination – proactive response
Vaccination of babies is an active measure taken by humans against infectious diseases, such as BCG vaccination to prevent tuberculosis, oral polio vaccine to prevent polio (polio), hepatitis B vaccine to prevent hepatitis B, etc. Parents must vaccinate their babies on time and as directed by their doctor.
3. Eat a balanced diet – boost your defenses
Children's partial eating and unbalanced nutrition will cause a decrease in resistance. Meat, eggs, fresh vegetables and fruits are as diverse as possible, and eat less fried, smoked, and too sweet foods.
4. Drink more boiled water - keep the mucous membrane moist
Drinking plenty of water can keep the mucous membrane moist and become an important line of defense against bacteria. When you go to kindergarten or go out, let your child carry a water bottle on his back and drink it whenever he is thirsty. Be careful to drink plain water instead of a variety of sugary drinks.
5. Good hygiene habits - prevent disease from entering the mouth
Although excessive antibacterial and clean is not conducive to health, it is still necessary to cultivate basic hygiene habits in children to prevent disease from entering the mouth. For example, every time the baby comes back from outdoor play, it is still necessary to pay attention to washing the child's hands; cut the nails regularly, do not let the mud and dirt settle in it; wash your hands before meals and after going to the toilet.
6. Regular living habits - let the biological clock turn rhythmically
Parents should be patient enough with their children to help them find their own rules of life. Growing children must maintain adequate sleep; usually take your baby to the park with fresh air to play, which is of great benefit to the body.
7. It doesn't have to be too clean – forming immune memories
The immune system is able to form an immune memory of infectious agents, and in case of encounters again, it can be quickly eliminated. If your home is too clean, your child doesn't have a chance to develop antibodies through infection, and their resistance is weakened, which can lead to allergies and autoimmune disorders.
8. Don't use antibiotics at will – let the immune system be exercised
When the infection is not very serious, try not to use antibiotics, but rely on your own resistance to exercise the immune system. In this way, when the same "enemy" is encountered again, the immune cells that have been trained will produce targeted immunity to protect the health of the body.
9. Good family atmosphere - stimulate immune vitality
Good mood stimulates the vitality of the immune system, which plays a role in fully protecting the body. Parents create a harmonious family atmosphere for their children, which can help children maintain a good state of immunity.
10. Get back to nature – have fun
Love to play is the nature of children, children on the ground rolling, climbing, touching is the natural growth stage, parents should change the way of excessive cleaning protection and pampering of children, let them return to nature, close to nature, appropriately increase outdoor activities, so that it is conducive to the healthy growth of children's physical and mental health.
In short, according to the physiological and psychological development and hobbies of children of all ages, moderate care, meet needs, strengthen exercise, and do not let them live in a vacuum. Let children have a happy childhood, in order to ensure their physical and mental health growth, for the health of adulthood to lay a good foundation.