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.