CHILDREN with eczema may actually benefit from living with a dog, US scientists said today.
Researchers from the University of Cincinnati found that children who lived with a dog before they were one-year-old seemed to gain a “protective effect” against developing the chronic skin condition eczema.
Scientists examining the relationship between dog and cat ownership and risk for developing eczema, tested 636 children for 17 separate allergies on a yearly basis from ages one to four years, with parents completing yearly surveys. The children enrolled in the study were considered at high risk for developing allergies because they were born to parents with allergies.
The study, published in The Journal of Pediatrics, discovered that children who tested positive for dog allergies were less likely to develop eczema by age four if they lived with a dog prior to age one.
Dr Tolly Epstein, who led the study, said: "The number of children with allergic eczema is rising, but the reasons for this are unclear. Our research suggests that exposure to dog allergens early in life may actually have a protective effect against developing future allergies among a high-risk population.”
However, allergic children who lived in a property with a cat were found to suffer a dramatic negative effect.
"Children who owned a cat before age one year and were allergic to cats based on a skin allergy test were 13 times more likely to develop eczema by (the) age (of) four years," Dr Epstein said.
She said, however, that children who were not allergic to cats were not at an increased risk for eczema if they owned one.
Dr Epstein suggested that parents of children at risk for eczema may want to consider these findings when choosing a family pet.
