Do you think messing about with horses and dogs helps your imune system ?

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BBH

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Was discussing this at work as one of our healthiest ladies has called in sick yet again.

Now two of us have horses and dogs and are always surrounded by the muck and detritus synonymous with animal ownership and as such our homes are not particularly sterile environments yet we are never ever sick.

The other ladies are real health aware, 2 litres of water, at least 5 portions of fruit and veg, gym memberships and cycle to work etc etc yet they get every bug, cough, virus, cold passing by.

Have we become to obsessed with sterile and the environment doesn't give anyone the ammunition to fight illness or is it as simple as just leading an active outdoors life providing all we need to remain fit and well.

Any thoughts.
 
I think it does. I rarely get sick, maybe the odd cold now and then, but I haven't been seriously sick since I got swine flu (when that was 'popular')
I was off school a lot because I was "sick" but honestly, I was bullied and hated school, it was very very rare I was actually ill.
 
Very short answer is yes. Your body needs to be able to use its immune system, if all you eat or touch is sterile you have a greater risk of really being ill if something gets through your barrier of sterility.
How do they cope when they take change from someone for instance, open a door in the office, think of the bugs there could be on that that will be attacking their vulnerable system?

Dirt is good for you, I've lost count of the times you'd be mucking out and then have your butties at RS and similar things, whoever thought about washing their hands then!
 
I'm not sure! My mums immune system broke down after working at a nursery for years, catching ever bug/flu going and caused her to get pneumonia and now has life long problems due to it. Sometimes being around the horses helps other times it's pretty much the worst thing for her! Depends on the time of year/weather
 
I agree.. When I was a kid I got dirty, crushed up rocks to powder, made perfume with flower petals, dug for worms, alsorts..

Nowadays I believe people are so clean (they think) with their wipes and alcohol gels etc that there is minimal exposure to natural antigens..

And I hate alcohol gel.. You might rub a bit on your hands, particularly in a hospital environment, but what about the rest of your body.. Nobody uses it properly anyway!

I'm an embalmer and have spent 15 years in mortuaries and outside with dead bodies in various conditions.. My mortuaries and my equipment and my clothes and shoes are immaculate, i have to be..

However I don't think twice about drinking out the hose or eating a sandwich after mucking out.. I get a cold maybe once a year and only get "ill" mechanically..

I definitely think the new hygiene culture can go a bit far and doesn't help.. People 30 and older rarely got sick as kids as far as I am aware (I'm over 30 too)..
 
Yes, I think so too. When my daughter was born their was some research around proving it, was over 7 yrs ago so don't have a link. I found it as it was a bone of contention between health visitor & I.
 
I think it does I did all those things as a kid too KSR as well as being abandoned at the yard every weekend and holiday Lol. Now I don't think twice about eating around the horses or after doing chores, wiping my hands on their horsey towels, drinking out of the tap or hose etc and other than being prone to tonsilitis and a chest infection two christmases ago im very rarely ill either
 
I think so...and I know of a gp who thought so too.

I am a dog groomer, so naturally I see all sorts of filthy dogs with poo stuck to their bums, skin conditions and what not. One client of mine, a gp, had a toddler and when I was speaking to the doctor-owner the baby was crawling round my reception floor. Now I do keep a clean shop, but dogs walking in and out all day, a grooming salon floor isn't going to exactly a clean room environment. So I joked that my shop floor probably wasn't the cleanest place for a baby to crawl - and her repsonse was that she coudn't think of a better place for her to build an immune system. Okay, fair enough.

I do wash my hands before I make my lunch after working on dog's bottoms, but I'm not generally obsessed with keeping hugely clean. Yes, I disinfect the shop for health reasons for keeping odors and general infections at bay. I try to keep healthy and do rest if I'm feeling under the weather. But I can't remember the last time I had a cold/flu (touching wood). It's been at least a year or more.

Between horse and dogs, i think that they have helped keep my immune system fairly strong.
 
Dirt is good for you, I've lost count of the times you'd be mucking out and then have your butties at RS and similar things, whoever thought about washing their hands then![/QUOTE]

I draw the line at that and correct my staff if I see them eating without washing hands rodents ( well rats ) are an issue at even the most well run yard and weils disease kills . Always wash your hands before eating if you are round the yard
 
KSR said:
And I hate alcohol gel.. You might rub a bit on your hands, particularly in a hospital environment, but what about the rest of your body.. Nobody uses it properly anyway!
Click to expand...

I don't like it either, but always take a bottle to the yard, because unlike most, I can't stand the horsey dust on my hands! I always put some on after I leave the yard, not for hygiene, but because it gets the dust off quickly.
 
I am definitely a believer in the 'a little dirt never hurt no one' idea.

have always been around horses and the natural mess that comes with them. As a child, I ate mud and worms, and as an adult, though not as bad, I still come into contact with poo every day and rarely get sick.

Just to add, I will wash my hands prior to eating etc, but I'm not obsessive.
 
Yes! Since I got my horse, and dog, 18 months ago my asthma has improved dramatically. I no longer use my inhalers and haven't for the last 12 months. I put this down to being outside and being fitter as well as the usual muck and mud. I agree with everyone else a bit of dirt won't kill you - haven't you heard of the 5 second rule? (by the way I am over 40) :p
 
As a kid i rarely got ill. I used to spend all weekend every weekend up at my local riding school and hygiene was not our biggest priority. I think I had about 5 days off sick from school in as many years (though I did tend to just get on with it if i did have a cold ect cos mum wouldnt allow me up the yard at the weekend if i had been off school in the week!). Meanwhile my brother and sister (non-horsey) got every bug going and still do.
 
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