"In this sticky web that we're all in, behaving decently is no small task." -- Novelist Stacey D'Erasmo

Sunday, February 17, 2019

Let Them Eat Dirt

     B grew up living rough. Well, not exactly. She grew up in a suburb in Long Island, NY. But she spent summers on her grandmother's Pennsylvania farm, with no hot water and an outdoor toilet. She spent a lot of time playing in the grass, rummaging around dusty barns, running barefoot in the fields.

     Now, as an adult, she firmly believes that children should play outside and eat a little dirt. It's good for them, she says. It helps their immune system, protects them against allergies and asthma.

     I ate a little dirt when I was a kid. And I never experienced any allergies . . . until a little over three years ago I became allergic to shrimp. I'd been eating shrimp all my life. But over Christmas 2015 we went to a party, and while B was chatting with a friend I was scarfing up the shrimp cocktail. Suddenly I broke out in a rash and felt hot all over.

     I ducked into the bathroom, pulled off my shirt and saw huge red blotches all over my chest. Fortunately, there was a nurse at the party, and she recognized that I had developed an allergic reaction to the shrimp. The host had some Benadryl, which I took, and I was better about ten minutes later.

     I tried shrimp once again, about a year later, and the same thing happened. Diagnosis confirmed: I am allergic to shrimp.

     I do not know what caused my sudden allergy to shrimp, but I have heard that as people get older they can develop allergies they've never had before. But according to Rob Dunn in his book Never Home Alone, allergies are becoming a lot more common -- allergies to peanuts, dust mites, animal dander, shellfish, and a lot of other things. And he attributes our greater susceptibility to allergies to our ever-increasing indoor, air conditioned, antiseptic living. In other words, he agrees with B.

     We are not exposed to the wide range of biodiversity that our parents and grandparents were, and therefore we have not developed immunity to a lot of irritants. Furthermore, Dunn blames the increase in autoimmune diseases, such as asthma, Parkinson's, Crohn's disease, inflammatory bowel disease and more to the same issue -- not having enough biodiversity in our lives.

     What's happened is that we have moved indoors, sealed off the windows and turned on the heat in winter and the air conditioning in summer. We've created an indoor atmosphere perfectly suited to many indoor bugs. And then we use disinfectants that kill off 90% of the bugs, including the good ones, leaving only the very strongest ones -- which are often the most aggressive and most problematic -- to populate our basements, beds and kitchen counters.

     Another problem is that many bugs have evolved to outsmart our disinfectants. For example, the German cockroach used to be killed with roach bait consisting of glucose to attract the cockroach and a pesticide to kill it. But a few roaches just didn't like the glucose so they avoided the bait. Those were the ones who survived, producing more roaches that were not attracted to the bait. After a few generations -- meaning a few weeks -- the German cockroaches evolved to lose their taste for glucose. The result: the traps didn't work.

     Other pests have evolved their own survival techniques, and so resistance to pesticides and other deterrents has evolved among many of the nastier bugs, including head lice, bed bugs, flies and mosquitoes. And some deadly diseases like tuberculosis have started to become resistant to antibiotics.

     So what does Dunn recommend for us on a practical basis? Leave the windows open more often, and avoid turning on the heat and a/c for as long as we can. Wash the dishes by hand instead of the using the dishwasher which typically harbors fungus. If water gets in the house, get it out as soon as possible because it breeds mold and mildew. Plant a garden. Buy more fresh food from local farmers. Bake bread.

     If you have children, or grandchildren, get a cat. A dog is even better . . . unless there are siblings around in which case they bring in enough of their own dirt from outside. Don't use bug sprays or disinfectants. But wash your hands -- washing hands gets rid of the bad dirt you just picked up in the bathroom or from the dirty doorknob at the doctor's office, but it does not wash off the good bacteria that is a part of your natural ecosystem. If you have spiders or silverfish in the garage or basement, leave them alone -- they will kill off the bad bugs and most likely will not bite you or cause any harm.

      As for me, I'm guessing my problem is that I didn't spend enough time at the beach when I was a kid -- so I didn't pick up enough exposure to all the sea life that would protect me from becoming allergic to shrimp. Perhaps it's too late. But I'm willing to give it a try. I will spend more time relaxing at the beach now that I'm retired. You know, doctor's orders.  

21 comments:

DJan said...

I don't seem to be able to comment any more. This is getting annoying, Blogger. :-(

Anonymous said...

"...so I didn't pick up enough exposure to all the sea life that would protect me from becoming allergic to shrimp." OR - shrimp have evolved causing them to put out compounds to which you would always have shown sensitivity? I know. We don't know. I am suddenly told by my physician, at age 80, that I have "seasonal allergies". There's always something new and exciting, isn't there?

I grew up much as B did; but, my mom specifically told us that we had "to eat a peck of dirt before you die."
Cop Car

Tom at Sightings said...

Hmmm, are people having trouble commenting here? Please let me know if you are experiencing problems (either by persevering here, or you can always send me an email). Thx!

DUTA said...

We have the weather to blame for our moving indoors and using artificial heating and cooling which damage our immune system. The weather nowadays is like a terrorist keeping people inside as hostages, when all they want is to be free, outside, breathing natural air. And it's getting worse.
The only disinfectant I use at home is vinegar and it works fine.

gigihawaii said...

Well, I live in Hawaii, but don't go to the beach anymore. Just don't care for sun at the beach. Prefer the sun in our patio. At any rate, I have colitis, which is an auto immune disease. Not allergic to shrimp, though.

Barbara said...

I totally see where this could be true. Our bodies are definitely weaker physically and immune-wise. I know I never feel as alive as I do during a nice walk on a beautiful day.

Red said...

In the old days many of these issues were not discovered and were not diagnosed. Many kids died, However, I still have to agree with your idea that we suffer from more things like allergies.

Kathy @ SMART Living 365.com said...

Hi Tom! Shrimp? I hadn't heard about the rise in allergies with shellfish. hmmmm...I wonder where that is triggering that rise. I do agree that staying inside and NOT playing in nature or dirt is a shift for us all. It will be interesting to see where it all leads. Meanwhile I intend to keep playing in my garden and taking walks in nature. Oh, and even though we live in a very hot summer area, we have an evaporative cooler that lets us keep the house more open with fresh air. Definitely a benefit. I can't stand living in air conditioning for months on end so it works well for us. ~Kathy

Diane Dahli said...

I grew up on a farm, so am acquainted with bugs and yes, even dirt. I agree that we live indoors too much now, and tend to keep our children too clean and protected. I think it's time for a repeat of the 1960's 'back to nature' trend! It can only help!

Rita said...

Hi Tom,

I'm reading "Never Home Alone." It's a great book, especially the part about not using toxic cleaners.

Rita R. Robison

Mary said...

A superb book on this very topic is An Epidemic of Absence: new ways to look at allergies and the autoimmune system.
It is absolutely fascinating!

Tom said...

I'll have to check out "Never Home Alone" also by Rob Dunn, and "An Epidemic of Absence" as well. Thanks for the recommendations ... maybe if I do enuf research I'll find a way to eat shrimp again!

Tabor said...

I would hate a food allergy. My neighbor is allergic to mammalian meat after a bite from a specific tick. I developed an allergy to the farm cats when I turned 12/13...so I think that may have been triggered hormonally? I have a friend who grew up on a diary farm and for decades has been lactose intolerant. Allergies are so strange.

Olga said...

Growing up I knew exactly one kid with an allergy. Now they seem ubiquitous. I think the "better living though chemistry" was a big fat lie.

And so sorry about your shrimp allergy.

Rebecca Olkowski said...

Sorry about the shrimp allergy. It's one of my favorite foods. We have two dogs and even though we live in an apartment we get our share of dirt. Plus we kiss them all the time. I wish I could open our window but we live right next to the freeway and next to a pool so it can get pretty toxic if it's open all the time. I also try to use natural cleansers because strong ones, especially Clorox go straight into my lungs.

Linda Myers said...

I never had allergies until I developed asthma at age 68. Bummer!

Wisewebwoman said...

A very interesting post Tom. I also wonder about the autism spectrum and could this be related to our hermetically sealed lifestyles?

We had an interesting discussion on this at our Book Club on Monday.

My former husband developed an allergy to clams late in his life - similar reaction to you but then it became more intense so I had to take him to the hospital.

Eating dirt, I ate a ton of it as a child and all that sand in our sandwiches and heaven knows what bugs.

We had a 5 second rule for things dropped on the floor.

XO
WWW

Jennifer said...

How I used to love dirt as a child. Now I try to keep it out of my home. So what you're saying is that I should stop doing that? All kidding aside, I think genetically modified foods are also causing some of our problems and making those with allergies have worse reactions. Usually, plants are genetically designed to resist pesticides so that heavier doses of pesticides can be used. And of course, more pesticide on the ground means more in the plants means more in our bodies. Layer genetically modified foods on top of chemicals and medication leaking into our water, on top of chemicals used to clean the home, on top of less fresh air, on top of less exercise, on top of less natural dirt and you start creating babies with less immunity and more allergies. What's Making Our Children Sick is a book I recommend.

Janis said...

I have a friend who developed an allergy to shrimp in his 50s. He started to experience symptoms much like a heart attack (as he described them) and passed out in his car when he got home. He lives alone so thank goodness someone found him. Scary stuff! I'm glad you were able to take benadryl and feel better quickly. So far, I don't have any allergies except for some morning sneezes. Fingers crossed.

Anonymous said...

Could be the increase in allergies might be due to the increased number of pesticides & halogenated (Fl, Cl, Br)compounds children are exposed to. And phthlates (recent research suggests exposure while in the womb can lead to reduced motor skills in pre-adolescent girls).
I played outside alot as a child, we had a very large insulated attic in my first home in MI, but no AC. No AC in my bedroom in the 2 homes in NY I lived in, after that, nor in the college dorms of the state university I attended. I worked at stables part time & full time for more then 10 years.

And .. . I have allergies that became apparent when I was in college and later in my mid-20's. I got allergy shots. I have a mild case (so far) of an auto-immune disorder. Both of my parents had allergies. Both were physically active outdoors (my father gardened, both of my parents walked/hiked). My mother had a food allergy (celery) that ran in her family, neither my sister (who had a much more severe & autoimmune disorder then I do) nor I inherited it.

So, sometimes it doesn't matter if you play outside from childhood to adulthood.

Kay said...

Good grief! B’s experiences are almost exactly like mine! No kidding! I didn’t have allergies until I was maybe around 40. And same thing happened with shrimp. Got all the splotches on my body. Twice. So I stopped eating shrimp. Then I slowly introduced it back into my menu. I can eat about three shrimp now without any effect. I haven’t tested it further than that. Lots of great advice here.