Purr, Purr, Woof, Woof...Oh, What a Relief it is?

Since I was a young tot, I have enjoyed the company of pets. Unfortunately, my allergic reactions to the "family friend" have hindered the purchase of a pet to this day. So, when I hear that exposing your children to cats, dogs, and the like may prevent allergic reactions, my first response is "How can that be?!"

Recent studies show, however, that a "hygiene hypothesis" may be presenting evidence that it may be true - exposing your children to pets at early onset of development may reduce their risk of allergies.

In fact, at a recent International Conference of the American Thoracic Society held in San Francisco, researcher David R. Ownby, MD, a pediatric allergy specialist at Medical College of Georgia, in Augusta and colleagues from the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit presented a new study that found exposure to pets in a child's early years might "significantly lower risk".

The researchers followed a group of about 500 children, almost equally split among boys and girls, from birth to age 7. Children were checked regularly with blood tests to measure antibodies that cause allergies, skin reaction tests that show sensitivity to an allergen, and a pulmonary test to measure lung function to detect asthma.

Researchers also collected data on exposure to cigarette smoke, home and day care environments, and measured allergen levels in household dust and air samples. They also asked about pets kept in the homes.

They found that children who lived with two or more animals were significantly less likely to have a positive skin test, signifying a reaction to an allergen, than those who had no exposure to pets. Children with pets were also less likely to have allergen antibodies.

The study "adds to the growing support for the hygiene hypothesis, that the cleaner we live -- our western world lifestyle -- the more likely we'll get asthma and allergies," states Ownby. "It confirms that observation, that children with a history of pet exposure in the first years of life have less asthma."

Ownby does caution the study falls short of proving that pets can prevent allergies and asthma. Only a randomized study -- one in which families are assigned to keep pets or not keep pets in the house -- would truly prove the hypothesis.

Working on the same "hygiene hypothesis," pets might not even be a necessary factor in increasing a child's immunity, says David Skoner, MD, director of allergy and immunology at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh. Siblings might also fit the bill.

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