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Study Shows Thumb-Sucking and Nail-Biting Can Be Good For Kids
HughPickens.com writes: Perri Klass M.D. writes in the NYT that according to a new study of children aged 5 to 11, thumb-suckers and nail-biters were less likely to have positive allergic skin tests later in life. In the study, parents were asked about their children's nail-biting and thumb-sucking habits when the children were 5, 7, 9 and 11 years old. skin testing for allergic sensitization to a range of common allergens including dust mites, grass, cats, dogs, horses and common molds was done when the children were 13 years old, and then later when they were 32. The study found that children who frequently sucked a thumb or bit their nails were significantly less likely to have positive allergic skin tests both at 13 and again at 32. Children with both habits were even less likely to have a positive skin test than those with only one of the habits. The question of such a connection arose because of the so-called hygiene hypothesis, an idea originally formulated in 1989, that there may be a link between atopic disease -- the revved-up action of the immune system responsible for eczema, asthma and allergy -- and a lack of exposure to various microbes early in life. Some exposure to germs, the argument goes, may help program a child's immune system to fight disease, rather than develop allergies. "The hygiene hypothesis is interesting because it suggests that lifestyle factors may be responsible for the rise in allergic diseases in recent decades," says Robert J. Hancox. "Obviously hygiene has very many benefits, but perhaps this is a downside. The hygiene hypothesis is still unproven and controversial, but this is another piece of evidence that it could be true." Although the results do not suggest that kids should take up these habits, the findings do suggest the habits help protect against allergies that persist into adulthood.
I'm asking for a friend.
Wanking is good for you. Biting your nails is good for you. What a waste of time those school hygiene talks were
In my childhood I bit my nails. My parents abused me and tried to wean from a habit. But if they knew about its helpfulness, their opinion had been change. Or not. Because this study colour me weird.
NYT spends as many inches on name dropping the researchers as it does explaining the research. The NHS has released an article that's a little better IMO.
tl;dr Research paper shows correlation between nail biting in childhood and incidence of allergies in later life, does not elaborate on causal relationship. Results hailed as "common sense" by the usual crowd.
If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
If the hypothesis is right, the point isn't the thumb-sucking or nail-biting, it's the exposure to bacteria, and there's a ton of other ways to do that.
Thumb-sucking in particular often correlates with tooth alignment issues later in life, so perhaps just stop sterilizing the shit out of everything around your kid and they'll get the same benefit without needing braces later?
-Styopa
You cannot check this for causation. Does the habit cause later protection, or does per-existing protection cause the habit? No way of doing a controlled study, as feeding nails to random children (even own nails) can be frowned upon.
Anyway, if it can help reduce the all-encompassing parent anxiety about anything their precious child does, it's welcome.
Rome taught me patience and assiduous application to detail. Virtues which temper the boldness of great, general views.
Sucking thumbs won't make you immune to allergies.. but it does make it quite likely you'll need dental work, the upper teeth get pushed out, the lower teeth pushed back, and if done regularly can result in requiring a rickanator to correct the jaw position and speech pathology to correct speech. If at all possible, get a pile of similar soothers, rotate them to dissuade a preference, and wean off as the kid gets around 4. No problems then, probably get just as much dirt in their mouth as kids will be dropping them all the time anyway.
!Equality through palindromes semordnilap hguorht ytilauqE!
However a lot of natural behaviors have been discouraged by changing cultural norms.
While people are freaking out about GMO and other devious actions by big agro food for all these allergies, Where the true cause may just be our new bubble hyper clean life style, where kids are seen as ultra fragile and in some areas laws will punish parents who raise their kids in a manner where they are exposed to such dirty behaviors.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
The hygiene hypothesis is still unproven and controversial
That's not quite correct; "unproven" is a confusing word here. It's more of an "it depends" situation, rather than a "true/false" situation.
The hygiene hypothesis can be sort-of demonstrated in some situations (e.g. reduced allergic response to peanuts in mice via oral sensitisation with very low amounts of CpG-coated peanut extract), and rejected in others (e.g. the parasitic worm H. polygyrus suppresses the adaptive immune response).
Ask me about repetitive DNA
Saying it originated in 1989 is like saying gravity originated in the 1600s with Newton, or like saying the idea of America originated with Columbus.
I personally know people who heard variations on the "hygiene hypothesis" from doctors in the 70s, although maybe nobody managed to get it published until later. But anybody with a brain would have tossed variations on it around casually in conversation once they understood we could build up resistance to things. Contrary to the certainty of all of us today, there really were smart people before we were around.
Real lawyers write in C++
*Thumb* sucking is good for kids. Ooops, the catholic church got it all wrong!
... makes you stronger.
Ever seen any kids. See where they put their hands? This will inderectly make their resistance stronger. And that leads to less illness.
Together with better healthcare which means kids don't die and are already strong enough to battle those virusses and bacteria means better health.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
A study done years ago suggested it gives the same benefits.
I don't need to re-clarify the many points already made here about thumb make-out sessions ruin teeth or chewing on nails makes you look like you have mutant finger nails, ect. I agree with all of it.
The point I will make is this just a new, generational way to shovel new, cute 'alternative-parenting' parents bullshit into stop their kids from having bad habits? Just plain ridiculous.
If chewing on my toe jammed crusted nails, wiping my own shit under my nose like smelling salts, washing my face with soap and my own urine, drinking my own respiratory infection phlegm like Rocky Balboa raw egg shakes, eating my own mucus boogers would stop me from having real deal shit like cancer or some other terminal disease, then sign me up. Otherwise, show me out to get researching funding for outrageous hypothesis ideas. Sounds like a hoot!
Just eat more dirt.
--
I was a beta tester for dirt. We never did get all the bugs out.
Study Shows Thumb-Sucking and Nail-Biting Can Be Good For Kids
What about Adults?
If we bathe in mud and dirt we will be invincible!
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
Study Shows Sucking and Boot-Licking Pays off for Politicians
Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
but if you don't, don't.
I was the only kid in my family of 5 kids who sucked their thumb. I was also the only kid in the family of 5 kids who didn't have braces. Every new dentist I go to asks me when I got my braces off.
Nice try...but try again.
The study only says that kids who such thumb and bit may develop fewer allergies. This does not mean that there are no other side effects and it is overall good for them. The referenced article has a proper title, "Thumb Suckers and Nail Biters May Develop Fewer Allergies".
Parent made a blanket statement. I provided an example in which the blanket statement was incorrect.
Blanket statements are also not data.
And three rights make a left.
Just another day in Paradise
Exactly, and it's interesting that allergy rates differ based upon where you were born...
From http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pm...
The reasons for this stark difference in peanut allergy compared to the western population are not known. It is tempting to speculate that early exposure to peanut which is cooked braised or boiled may be one of the reasons for the development of tolerance, as Asians including children are often exposed to peanut rice porridge. It has been shown that roasting of peanuts increases its allergenicity [56]. However, other environmental factors that modulate mucosal immunity of the gut and induce mucosal tolerance may also be implicated and requires further study. Environmental influences are suggested by studies on migrant populations (see section below on Risk factors for food allergy). In the Singapore survey, it was shown that irrespective of ethnicity, those born in Asia had lower risk of peanut and tree nut compared to those born in Western countries
Just another day in Paradise