06-05-2006, 11:25 PM
I think Nystul hit the nail on the head.
I have a feeling the increase in cases is linked to the super squeeky clean households. When my aunt gave birth to children she become super germaphobic, replacing every product with an antibacterial, cleaning the house obsessively with cleaners, and buying anti allergin filtering machines for every room. The more frequently her children got sick, the more it fueled her clean habit. When her kids turned about 5 the situation worsened, they were getting sick more frequently and to a worse degree than all the other kids in school. My young cousin new what an Epi-Pen was before I was trained how to use one (from first aid courses I took). The list of allergic reactions is absurd, there are only specific types of brocolli my cousin can eat :wacko:
Nystul is also right in pointing out this,
The amount of reported cases has increased. When I grew up I used to play in the dirt, washed my hands only when I got caught and was forced to, and in certain situations like Chicken Pox was actually sent over a friends house to catch it.. ahem... to play. When I did contract chicken pox, there was no doctor visit. Just a few weeks out of school and a whole lot of itching and oatmeal baths. Not the same, my young cousins and my neices and nephews are carted off to the pediatrition for every mundane cough. I won't deny there may be some justification for this behavior to be found in these new stronger strands of disease, but even as a 20 something, I find these new practices rather absurd.
Cheers,
Munk
Quote:My parents theory on ear infections was that contemporary parents were setting up these supersterile home environments for their infants, and then sending them to daycare where they were exposed to massive germ attacks with no built up defenses. Throw in the increased use of antibiotics and the resistant strains of bacteria that are evolving, and it gets worse. This almost makes sense, and I guess it is similar to one of the article's theories on allergy increase as well.
I have a feeling the increase in cases is linked to the super squeeky clean households. When my aunt gave birth to children she become super germaphobic, replacing every product with an antibacterial, cleaning the house obsessively with cleaners, and buying anti allergin filtering machines for every room. The more frequently her children got sick, the more it fueled her clean habit. When her kids turned about 5 the situation worsened, they were getting sick more frequently and to a worse degree than all the other kids in school. My young cousin new what an Epi-Pen was before I was trained how to use one (from first aid courses I took). The list of allergic reactions is absurd, there are only specific types of brocolli my cousin can eat :wacko:
Nystul is also right in pointing out this,
Quote:For what it's worth, my cousin's wife and one of my mother's best friends seem to each have hundreds of very bad allergies (as do their children). So it is not as though these things haven't existed in the older generations. And the seasonal allergies can easily be mistaken for colds or just not reported... parents now may be more hasty to take their kids to the doctor for whatever reason.
The amount of reported cases has increased. When I grew up I used to play in the dirt, washed my hands only when I got caught and was forced to, and in certain situations like Chicken Pox was actually sent over a friends house to catch it.. ahem... to play. When I did contract chicken pox, there was no doctor visit. Just a few weeks out of school and a whole lot of itching and oatmeal baths. Not the same, my young cousins and my neices and nephews are carted off to the pediatrition for every mundane cough. I won't deny there may be some justification for this behavior to be found in these new stronger strands of disease, but even as a 20 something, I find these new practices rather absurd.
Cheers,
Munk