Lynn Shea wrote:
, Mom of a 8 mth old only
child, began discussing the fact that her daughter is sick yet again, how
she
picks up everything from her daycare (she was never breastfed) and that she
guesses "she should be glad because this will probably mean (supposedly
according to her pedi) that by the time the baby gets to school age, she
will
be immune to everything." The other women all seemed to think this was a
good
point so I felt the need to chime in with my 2 cents (pretending to be
entirely sure of it, but really not!)  that in fact that babies aren't meant
to be exposed to so many sources of infection at such a young age


I wrote an article a year or so ago about babies and infections, and
interviewed an immunologist (I think that's what he was called). His point
was that it is not healthy for babies to be "too clean" - that it is
valuable for them to "eat a little dirt" as this primes their immune system
to start fighting germs. (Not that we should really feed babies dirt, but
that we don't need to be cleaning everything with antibiotic cleansers or
fussing if they put their fingers in their mouths.) But he did also mention
to me that the daycare environment, with a continual influx of new germs,
has the potential to overwhelm the baby's system and make him pretty sick.

I remember hearing at one point that babies who get lots of colds are more
likely to develop asthma. Does anyone know if this is true? If so it could
suggest why we are seeing such an increase in asthma in children.

The other thing I think about these frequently-ill babies is how miserable
they must feel most of the time. A cold may not be serious, but it can make
you feel awful. What kind of an introduction to the world is it to feel sick
most of your first year or two? And often they end up with very painful ear
infections, temporary hearing loss, etc. as well. I wonder how this affects
a child's personality and development.

Teresa Pitman
Guelph, Ontario

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