If your child has a dog allergy, should you get a dog? A recent study in the Journal of Pediatrics says it might be a good idea, to help avoid a chronic skin condition related to allergies, called eczema.
Eczema often develops in childhood, and it is becoming more and more common. It is associated with a greater risk of other conditions like asthma and allergies. Researchers decided to study the relationship between pet ownership and eczema.
The researchers studied 636 children enrolled in the Cincinnati Childhood Allergy & Air Pollution Study (CCAAPS) which looks at the long-term effect of the environment on childhood respiratory health and the development of allergies. Children in the study are considered high risk for developing allergies because they have parents with allergies. The researchers studied several risk factors for developing eczema, including dog and cat ownership. The children were tested for 17 separate allergies, including dog and cat allergies, on a yearly basis from ages one to four years. The parents completed annual surveys which included questions about pet ownership.
Children who had a dog allergy and who owned a dog at one year of age were four times less likely to develop eczema by age four, compared with those who did not own a dog. This suggests dog ownership could provide a natural form of protection for the immune system for children who have dog allergies.
Unlike dog ownership, cat ownership did not have a protective effect on children with cat allergies. In fact, children who owned a cat before one year of age and who were allergic to cats were 13 times more likely to develop eczema by four years of age. Researchers suggested that the effects of cat allergens on the immune system must work in a different way from dog allergens.
If your child is at risk for developing eczema (i.e. has a parent with eczema or high exposure to traffic pollution) and wishes to have a family pet, you may want to consider these findings.
Journal of Pediatrics: Original source
AboutKidsHealth: Eczema
Sherene Chen-See
Writer/editor
AboutKidsHealth