The "Farm Effect" and allergies.

I agree with @Imogene on this one. I lived outdoors. Tons of critters tossed into the mix. But I have allergies now.

What changed? I became a senior citizen. Our immune systems are not as strong as they once were and now we have issues fighting off the allergens all around us. Even your doc will tell you that.

Remember how grandmom, even the one on the farm, had a tissue tucked up her sleeve?
 

As a life long 'hands on' electrical mechanical repair technician I have never be particularly fastidious about hand cleanliness but have had many cuts scrapes and even quite severe work related damages over the years. I very rarely do anything more than wrap it up (often with electrical tape nothing more) just to stop the bleeding and carry on.

In 80 years I have never had a major infection from such damage and generally heal up nicely in fairly short order.

I am of the firm belief that my immune system is VERY strong simply because I do NOT go to the doctor or clinic for every little cut n scrape and that our immune systems 'learn from experience'. Is the ever increasing volume of kids that are allergic to milk or peanuts or whatever or adults that develop major illness from minor issues simply from lack of exposure to such things generally in their day to day life.

What do you think?
At 80 I am now allergenic to work but so far its not a debilitating affliction but my fingers are in much better shape!
 
Yes, I think our immune system is at boot camp for the first stretch of our lives. It's in training.
Where I grew up in the country, we had irrigation ditches on 3 sides of us, and the mosquitos were everywhere in the evening. However, today when a mosquito bites me, it has no effect. I can feel the bite, but it never itches. I know that was the result of being exposed so much as a child.
 
I read an article by an allergist the other day that reminded me of a co-worker. Part of the reason that she had been living in a high desert area before she moved here was because she had found out that she was allergic to mold. But after moving to the desert, her allergy symptoms got even worse, so she consulted an allergist there.

He told her that she had moved to one of the worst places in the world for those allergic to mold. She told him she was surprised by that because she'd heard that mold loves humidity and moisture so much. He said, "That's the big misconception everyone has about mold allergies. But mold does not in fact *love* humidity or moisture; it merely *likes* humidity and moisture. What mold loves better than anything is heat and even warmth. So since it's always at least warm and usually hot here, we got a lot of mold."

And the article I read recently said the same; the author said that "anyone allergic to mold who wants to spend any amount of time outside should live somewhere where it's cold and dry all year. And since the only places on the planet like that are the North Pole, the South Pole, and northern Greenland, if you're allergic to mold, your best bet is to stay the hell inside."

And being allergic to mold runs in my family, lucky me. At least I don't have the form that my late dad and brother had: they started into anaphylactic shock if they tried taking Penicillin.
 
When I was in graduate school 30 years ago, I did research for a paper on multiple sclerosis. At the time they found that many pig farmers ended up getting it disproportionately to the population and they wondered if there was something about pig farming that was causing it. In fact, on one farm all four brothers had it which would be highly unusual. I haven’t followed up on it and just thought of it now reading this thread so I have no idea if they’ve ever come to any conclusions.
 
officerripley said:
I read an article by an allergist the other day that reminded me of a co-worker. Part of the reason that she had been living in a high desert area before she moved here was because she had found out that she was allergic to mold. But after moving to the desert, her allergy symptoms got even worse, so she consulted an allergist there.

He told her that she had moved to one of the worst places in the world for those allergic to mold. She told him she was surprised by that because she'd heard that mold loves humidity and moisture so much. He said, "That's the big misconception everyone has about mold allergies. But mold does not in fact *love* humidity or moisture; it merely *likes* humidity and moisture. What mold loves better than anything is heat and even warmth. So since it's always at least warm and usually hot here, we got a lot of mold."

And the article I read recently said the same; the author said that "anyone allergic to mold who wants to spend any amount of time outside should live somewhere where it's cold and dry all year. And since the only places on the planet like that are the North Pole, the South Pole, and northern Greenland, if you're allergic to mold, your best bet is to stay the hell inside."

And being allergic to mold runs in my family, lucky me. At least I don't have the form that my late dad and brother had: they started into anaphylactic shock if they tried taking Penicillin.
Click to expand...
I was curious and checked it out a bit, and there aren't very many studies in pig farming and relating illnesses, and nothing showing any definitive connection, however, there was a bit of correlation between pork consumption and Multiple Sclerosis, but they need more studies to determine enough to draw conclusions. I guess it makes sense that those raising pigs would likely consume more pork, so the instance you mentioned could still have some merit, but with a different connection. Sounds like it needs to be fleshed out a bit more.
 
Teacher Terry said:
When I was in graduate school 30 years ago, I did research for a paper on multiple sclerosis. At the time they found that many pig farmers ended up getting it disproportionately to the population and they wondered if there was something about pig farming that was causing it. In fact, on one farm all four brothers had it which would be highly unusual. I haven’t followed up on it and just thought of it now reading this thread so I have no idea if they’ve ever come to any conclusions.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I'm going to see if I can look that up.
 
Having worked in the medical field 50+ years, I'm sure I've developed immunities to a vast number of things as has most everyone else that's worked in that field.
 
Growing up in a toxic or highly stressful environment can increase a child’s likelihood of developing allergies, though the link is mostly indirect. Chronic stress during childhood disrupts the developing nervous and immune systems, keeping the body in a heightened state of inflammation. This makes the immune system more reactive and more prone to misidentifying harmless substances—like pollen, food proteins, or dander—as threats.

Toxic environments also often come with physical factors that directly increase allergy risk, such as cigarette smoke, mold, poor air quality, or inconsistent healthcare. These exposures can interact with stress to worsen asthma, eczema, respiratory allergies, and even food allergies.

In short, toxic stress doesn’t create allergies on its own, but it lowers the threshold for them to develop in children who may already be genetically vulnerable. Emotional toxicity and physical environmental factors combine to shape how reactive the immune system becomes later in life.

That explains why I had pretty severe allergies when I was growing up but hardly any now in my senior years; the stress has been reduced and possibly as a result, so have my allergies.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top