Scientists Say a Dirty Child Is a Healthy Child

Researchers from the School of Medicine at the University of California have shown that the more germs a child is exposed to, the better their immune system in later life. Their study found that keeping a child's skin too clean impaired the skin's ability to heal itself. From the article: "'These germs are actually good for us,' said Professor Richard Gallo, who led the research. Common bacterial species, known as staphylococci, which can cause inflammation when under the skin, are 'good bacteria' when on the surface, where they can reduce inflammation."

Wow, that's good news

[Anonymous Coward]

My kid must be immortal!

Corollary

[Red Flayer]

And the corollary is... a dirty old man is a healthy old man.

This is why I plan on mounting mirrors and/or cameras on both my cane and my shoetips.

This is why, as an old man, I will take a volunteer job on a college campus somewhere in Florida.

This is why, as an old man, I plan to be a huge supporter of high school sports, standing on the sidelines with my hands in my pockets.

I don't want to die, and if being a dirty old man is what it takes, then so be it.

Damn right!

[chaynlynk]

Because of this, I will continue to not wash my hands, ever.

Re:Damn right!

[HTH NE1]

"You really don't plan to shake my hand without washing yours first, do you?"
"I take offense to that; I assure you I keep a very clean penis."

Re:Bare foot...

[JustOK]

if god meant us to walk bare foot, he wouldn't have given us feet to put shoes on.

Re:All things in balance!!!!

[Beardo the Bearded]

I have two kids in daycare and I bike to work. (Biking gets mud and puddle water on my face regularly.) I also SCUBA dive, and we don't treat our sewage here. (Primary screening, but no secondary treatment.)

I eat in pubs, work out at the Y, hardly ever wash out my water bottle, and I just licked my keyboard.

Mortal germs can't live in here.

realization

[ascari]

It is suddenly clear to me: My mother wanted me dead!

Re:Known this for years.

[markass530]

George carlin said it best "You know when I wash my hands after I use the bathroom? When I piss or crap on them, which is 2, 3 times a week tops.

Same with software

[JuzzFunky]

I find the more bugs I introduce at the start of the project, the better the users are at dealing with bugs later on...

Re:Known this for years.

[Macrat]

...I'd get the flu with hallucinations-inducing fevers.

Really mom! I'm not high! I have a hallucination inducing fever!

Re:This is why I keep buckets of mud on the . . .

[Anonymous Coward]

Aw, dang it! Now "Death Panel Palin" is going to get up there on TV and tell us how that Evil Old Big Gummint is gonna deny us poor honest Real American folks access to dirt!

Re:We're adapted to a hunter-gatherer society

[Dun Malg]

Dang that thagomizer [cachefly.net], skewing the statistics down.

Re:All things in balance!!!!

[Capt.DrumkenBum]

My parents were not very good about food safety and force fed me undercooked meat on a regular basis.

Perhaps they were trying to get rid of you. Its just a thought.

Re:Damn right!

[thePowerOfGrayskull]

Reminds me of a co-worker, back when I was cutting grass and digging ditches for a living. He'd always wash his hands before going to the bathroom, never after. I asked him about it once, he said, "I know where my dick's been all day, I can't say the same about my hands."

Re:You mean, Neitsche was right?

[trouser]

So if you lost a limb but survived you would be stronger? But crippled? But a stronger cripple? Naturally the loss of limb would be due to an attempt to jump a shark, an attempt that went horribly, yet hilariously, wrong.

Re:How is this news?

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

I would expect that this would place a strong selective pressure on immune function. As such, I would think that you would expect the trend to continue in the children of families from such areas and transplanted them into a cleaner culture.

Which sounds like a great argument in favor of mail-order brides - if you want healthy kids, get yourself a dirty woman. Or something like that...

Re:old news?

[dzfoo]

>> Toast is a bad idea though. As it is nearly pure starch. Meaining it will frag your immune system even further

That's why it's a known fact that as soon as humans invented bread, they died out en masse and the species didn't survive.

Oh wait!

    -dZ.

Re:old news?

[operagost]

This one's even better:

Last weekend I went on a movie date with a very nice lady. During the coming attractions I managed to get a piece of popcorn down the wrong pipe. I started coughing. People nearby glanced at me nervously. Then, as the movie was about to begin, I got a tickle in my nose and sneezed. Twice. The young couple sitting to my left immediately got up and moved across the aisle. The old lady directly in front of me leapt to her feet and literally vaulted over her husband in order to sit further away from me. For some reason, I was a little miffed. But then I realized the newfound power I had. I got up, crossed closer to the old lady and young couple and coughed again. They all glared at me and once again moved their seats. The game was on! Maneuvering like a knight on a chess board, I countered their move by moving two rows down and one seat over. I looked at them. I smiled. I coughed. They were stunned. How could this be happening? How had their simple movie outing turned into an Edgar Allan Poe short story? But it had! In a matter of minutes, they had become Prince Prospero and his noble cohorts, while I, I had become the Red Death! The old woman covered her mouth and nose with her hand and cried out, "Why are you doing this to us?!" I laughed and said, "Why? You want to know why? Because death, my dear woman, is the inevitable end for us all! And there is no hiding from it. Even at the AMC!" A horrible silence hung over the theater, no one moved, no one breathed. Then the movie started and we all settled down to enjoy the whacky, 3-D antics of Jim Carrey. Oh, and I'm hoping to go out with the nice lady again, but she has not returned my calls.