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Washing Dishes By Hand Could Protect Kids From Allergies

BOSTON (CBS) - Dr. Mallika Marshall reports on two big allergy headlines that could help protect your children from developing allergies in the first place.

More and more children are suffering from allergies and one environmental factor may contribute. It's called the hygiene hypothesis and proposes that because we live in such a sterile environment with antibacterial products, the overuse of antibiotics, and limiting our children's exposure to dirt and germs, their immune systems overreact when kids eventually encounter these things. Two new studies support this theory.

Pregnant women and parents of young children are often told to avoid certain foods that could cause allergies, especially peanuts. But a new study out of London looked at more than 600 babies, ages 4 to 11 months, at risk of developing a peanut allergy. One group was given peanut protein, the other group was not. They found that the group given the peanut protein was much lower risk of developing a peanut allergy by age 5. These findings may prompt pediatricians to change their recommendations about peanut exposure in early childhood.

Another new study, this one out of Sweden, looked at how parents wash their dishes, either by hand or with a dishwasher. They found that children in households that hand wash their dishes are less likely to develop eczema, asthma and hay fever. Hand washing, presumably, leaves some bacteria and germs behind. Exposure to this "dirt" may allow children's immune systems to mature and become less reactive when those germs are encountered down the road. But don't throw your dishwashers out quite yet. More study needs to done in this area.

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