It’s a simple fact of nature that our environments have an impact on our development—especially for allergies. From diverse microbiomes to air quality, early exposure to clean and rich environmental factors can have a direct link to allergies and asthma.
“We all carry different bacteria that line our gut and respiratory tract,” says Dr. Mariam Hanna, a pediatric allergist and an assistant clinical professor in the department of pediatrics at McMaster University. “The relationship between those bacteria and developing immune cells builds our overall immunity, but that can get altered by our environment.”
Recently, these exposure-driven changes were uncovered on a new cellular level.
A study from the University of Rochester Medical Center discovered a unique subset of T cells, vital immune cells that help fight off infection. Researchers found this subset—which is more reactive and inflammatory than other T cells—more frequently in urban infants who went on to develop allergies. In contrast, infants in a farming community had more regulatory T cells to keep the immune system in check.
In other words, consistent early exposure to the rural outdoors appears to be associated with preventing the development of allergies and asthma.
If spending time outdoors as a young child appears to build up the immune system, can taking your kids or infants to the cottage help prevent them from developing these environmentally-triggered allergies?
Spoiler: not exactly.
“It’s hard to say whether those brief exposures will ultimately alter your microbiome in a more permanent way,” says Hanna.
The key to early childhood exposure is consistency. While heading up to the cottage for the summer weekends can be beneficial in many ways—see, being active in nature—an infant needs prolonged exposure to an environment to truly alter their immune system.
“When we do immunotherapy or types of exposure therapy to retrain the immune system, we need to do either daily, weekly, or monthly injections to build long-term tolerance,” says Dr. Hanna. “It doesn’t work well if you stop.”
That said, letting your kids run wild at the cottage can have other mental and physical health benefits. Touching soil, breathing in better-quality air, climbing a tree—even small doses of these activities are good for the development of fine motor skills and risk.
“I like to say that a good dose of nature is always recommended,” says Dr. Hanna.
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