Good news for parents with allergies and a brand new baby: having a dog in the house might keep that baby from developing eczema. Especially good news if those parents aren't thrilled at the thought of having a snake or lizard as the family pet.
Studies conducted by Dr. Tolly Epstein and colleagues from the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center show that children who have dog allergies but still own dogs are less likely to develop eczema by age 4.
Eczema is a term applied to a broad range of persistent skin conditions. Those suffering from eczema can have any of the following symptoms: redness, swelling, itching and dryness, flaking, blistering, cracking, or bleeding.
Eczema often develops during childhood and children with allergies are more susceptible to flare ups. In turn, once the child has eczema, he's at greater risk of developing asthma and food allergies. The reasons for this are still unknown.
Having a dog in the same house as a young child with dog allergies might seem counter-intuitive, but it could actually do some good.
Epstein and colleagues gathered data from 636 children enrolled in the Cincinnati Childhood Allergy & Air Pollution Study (CCAAPS), a long-term epidemiologic study examining the effects of environmental particulates on childhood respiratory health and allergy development.
Children enrolled in the study are considered at high risk for developing allergies because they were born to parents with allergies.
The researchers focused on several potential risk factors
for developing eczema, including dog ownership. The children were tested for 17
separate allergies on a yearly basis from ages 1 through 4 years, and the
parents completed yearly surveys.
The researchers found that children who tested positive for dog allergies were
less likely to develop eczema by age 4 years if they owned a dog before age 1
year.
According to Epstein, "Children with dog allergies who did
not own dogs were 4 times more likely to develop eczema."
Unfortunately, the same does not apply to cat ownership.
In fact, cat ownership seemed to increase the risk of eczema in children with cat allergies.
"Children who owned a cat before age 1 year and were
allergic to cats based on a skin allergy test were 13 times more likely to
develop eczema by age 4 years," Epstein
said.
She notes, however, that children who were not allergic to cats were not at an increased risk for eczema if they owned a cat.
Epstein suggests that parents of children at risk for eczema may want to consider these findings when choosing a family pet.
