Eczma in Kids Can be Prevented by Farm Animals and Cats

Ever since I was a young child, I hated living in the city. Spending my summer vacation in the country, with the fresh air and sweet aroma of freshly mowed hay drying in the fields was something to which I looked forward. Even then I felt that living in the country can have some powerful effects on our well-being. So I've been itching to share a fascinating scientific discovery that I ran across about the important relationship between farm animals, cats and their effects upon certain types of skin diseases which occur in children. It is common knowledge that being in close proximity to a purring cat can lower blood pressure and convey a feeling of calm and serenity. A famous dairy company with which most of us are familiar from regular television commercials touts that milk from their contented cows is more delicious and possibly even more nutritious. But I had no idea that farm animals and cats can help lower the risk of certain skin diseases in children. After all, Mother Nature knows best. According to a study published in Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology, mothers who were in close contact with farm animals and cats during their pregnancies delivered babies that were less apt to develop atopic dermatitis (also known as atopic eczema). This skin disease is a painful and chronic skin inflammation to which children are prone to up to the age of two. Atopic eczema, one of the most common skin diseases in children, affects approximately twenty percent of children living in industrialized areas. Five hundred and eight European children living on farms, and 555 children who did not live on farms, but were from the rural areas of Finland, France, Austria, Switzerland and Germany, were examined by a research team from the University of Zurich. Additionally the researchers identified two genes that were connected with a child's risk for developing the skin disease up to two years old. Researchers said the theory that a "gene-environment's interaction with a child's developing immune system," has an effect on whether atopic dermatitis develops, is now supported, based on the findings of their team. Interestingly, previous research revealed that children growing up on farms, whose mothers lived on farms during their pregnancy, were less likely to develop allergies. Apparently, living on a farm can be quite beneficial to children's health which makes perfect sense to me. For more information on Atopic eczema, visit the U.S. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases. Share your thoughts about the health effects of the great outdoors in a comment. Image Source: Flickr User buzzhoffman