- Sucking on your child’s pacifier to clean it may reduce their risk of developing allergies like asthma and eczema, according to a study at Queen Silvia Children’s Hospital in Sweden.
- 18-month-old children whose parents cleaned their pacifiers with their own mouths had less likelihood of developing allergies than children whose parents cleaned their pacifiers with tap or boiling water.
- “Exposure of the infant to parental saliva might accelerate development of complex oral/pharyngeal microbiota that…might beneficially affect tolerogenic handling of antigens by the oral/pharyngeal lymphoid tissues,” study conductor Bill Hesselmar, MD, PhD, wrote.
- The study also found that children who were delivered vaginally—a process which transfers beneficial bacteria from mother to infant—led to “microbial stimulation,” which stymied allergy development.
- In an unrelated study, the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Imumunology found that pregnant women on the Mediterranean Diet reduced the risk of their child developing asthma symptoms by 80 percent.
Get More Information at MedPage Today and Reuters Health.
Today in Pediatrics: Parents who use their own saliva to clean a pacifier may reduce baby’s allergy risk ow.ly/kKzjI
— Amer Acad Pediatrics (@AmerAcadPeds) May 6, 2024
So, the ol’ spit clean works eh? What sayeth you, parents? blog.sfgate.com/sfmoms/2024/05…
— Courtney Lewis (@COURTNEYKCTV5) May 6, 2024
I totally do this. Vindicated! RT @jezebel: Too lazy to wash your kid’s pacifier? Just lick it clean, it’s cool bit.ly/18NwRtk
— Natasha Gardner (@natashajgardner) May 6, 2024
Would u try this with your babies pacifier? Effective or gross? NPR buff.ly/10glfA1
— Sharon Vinderine (@PTPASharon) May 6, 2024
A new study finds a possible health benefit to sucking on your kid’s pacifier… huff.to/16N4Oha
— HuffPost Parents (@HuffPostParents) May 6, 2024