"Hygiene Hypothesis"

Emily Martin in her book" Flexible Bodies" provides a historical context of the concepts "illness" and "health" in the American society and how they are changing in terms of " immune system". "In the 1940s and 1950s, seen through the lens of popular publications, the most important threats to health were considered to lie in the environment just outside the body. Enormous attention was devoted to hygiene, cleaning surfaces in the home, clothing, surfaces of the body and wounds with antiseptics."( p.24) " [In 1954], there was widespread coverage of what" antibodies" are..."Antibodies" are one of nature's most important ways of protecting animals and men from infectious disease."(p.31)

In part 1 and 2 of her book, Martin discusses how, in 1940s and 1950s, the most important defense of health was strictly preventing the entrance of any germs into the interior of the body. The healthy body was illustrated as a castle protected with two walls to keep the germs away. Hence, personal "hygiene" became the most important habit. The only way to stay healthy is by cleaning the surfaces of the body and the surroundings to keep the germs away.

By the end of the twentieth century, the emergence of the immune system shifts the concepts of health and illness to an" interior" focus that gave the "antibodies" the role of protecting the body against the infectious disease. Today, antibiotics medicines and vaccines are available to boost and support the immune system, they also widened our chances of a healthy body. Meanwhile, people who born and grown to adulthood since 1940s and 1950s, they still carry the fear of germs and obsess with cleanliness specially around their kids.

In the article "The Hygiene Hypothesis: Are Cleanlier Lifestyles Causing More Allergies For Kids?" http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070905174501.htm
A new medical theory,''The Hygiene Hypothesis", holds that leading a cleanlier lifestyle may be responsible for an increase in allergies and asthma among children in western world. Marc McMorris, M.D., a pediatric allergist at the University of Michigan Health System says, “we’ve developed a cleanlier lifestyle, and our bodies no longer need to fight germs as much as they did in the past. As a result, the immune system has shifted away from fighting infection to developing more allergic tendencies. The natural immune system does not have as much to do as it did 50 years ago because we’ve increased our efforts to protect our children from dirt and germs.” Ultimately, McMorris advises parents to just let kids be kids. Let them play outside and with friends, and don’t worry about them coming into contact with dirt and germs – but always be cautious with children with life-threatening food allergies.

In the above article, the"Hygiene Hypothesis" stresses on the importance of the immune system in fighting germs and presents the disadvantages of excessive"hygiene". It calls for a balance between healthy living and clean living by adopting new habits that help in developing the kids' immune system and protect them from illness. This new medical theory revives the role of the immune system in defining and changing the concepts "illness"and "health" and in organizing and comprehending peoples' lives.



YouTube - What Is The 'Hygiene Hypothesis'?


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