Human behaviors that contribute to decreased exposure to microbes.
We now know that microbial exposures could have positive health impacts later on in life. The hygiene hypothesis states that the lack of early childhood exposure to infectious agents microbes and parasites will suppress the natural development of the immune system. The immune system can be broken down into sub categories the innate and the adaptive immune system. The hygiene hypothesis primary acts on the adaptive immune system. The adaptive immune response is antigen-specific and requires the recognition of specific “non-self” antigens during a process called antigen presentation. Antigen specificity allows for the generation of responses that are tailored to specific pathogens or pathogen-infected cells. The ability to mount these tailored responses is maintained in the body by “memory cells”. Should a pathogen infect the body more than once, these specific memory cells are used to quickly eliminate it. In other words if your not exposed to infectious agents then your adaptive immune system has less information to go off in immune response.
Potential risk factors could be:
- Formula feeding instead of being exposed to microbes in breast milk
- Infant being born through c-section and not exposed to vaginal microbes in delivery.
- A kid that never plays outside (in dirt).
- Parents that don’t get there kids vaccinated to be exposed to viruses that like virulence factors.
- Antibiotic therapy not being used in the right way.
- Over use of antimicrobial household products like (detergents, soaps, kitchen cleaners etc.)
It is important to keep a biodiversity of microbes in and on your body. Certain behaviors can promote and depress the biodiversity of the micro biome. The adaptive immune system needs to have infectious agents so it can adapt over time and prevent the later onsets of allergies and infection.
