In every environment and on every object and person, single-celled organisms, called microbes, exist. By the time a baby reaches six months of age, he or she begins to explore the world around them by putting all sorts of objects in its mouth. While many mothers may not want their babies touching dirty objects with their mouths, science tells us that it is important for babies to ingest microbes early on in life. Humans themselves are a combination of microbes and human cells, and the human stomach is a complex ecosystem full of thousands of different kinds of bacteria.
This bacteria ultimately influences a person’s health. Based on this information, researchers can predict which babies will go on to live a healthier life or potentially develop disease. A study was conducted in which researchers collected the dust samples from over 1,000 homes in Detroit in the United States. Some of the homes had dogs, some had cats, and some had no pets at all. When the dust samples were collected and sent to the lab for further investigation, DNA was extracted to see which microbes were present. It was observed and verified that in homes with no pets, there was less bacterial exposure, which meant that babies raised in those households had a greater chance of developing asthma in childhood.
On the other hand, babies that grew up in homes with pets had more exposure to bacteria and were actually protected from developing asthma later on in life. While this idea may sound absurd, dust and dirt, within reason, is actually necessary and beneficial to the development of an infant’s immune system.
