【科学60秒】早养宠物对宝宝好(双语有声)

作者：hahaleaf 来源：沪江论坛 2011-08-20 08:00

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Infant Exposure to Pets May Lower Risk of Later Allergies

早养宠物对宝宝好

A newborn’s immune system needs time to figure out what should be fought and what should be left alone. Conventional wisdom had it that early exposure to potential troublemakers, from peanuts to pets, could lead to allergy issues later.

新生儿的免疫系统对于确认免疫目标还需要点时间。传统观念认为，过早地让婴儿接触花生、宠物等潜在过敏源，将来可能会引起过敏。

But recent research shows that having a dog or cat at home isn't likely to make children allergic to animals. And a new study finds that kids who grow up with pets are less likely to have an animal allergy all the way through age 18. The works is in the journal Clinical & Experimental Allergy. [Bill Hesselmar et al., "Does early exposure to cat or dog protect against later allergy development?"]

但最新研究表明，养宠物其实并不会引起孩子过敏。另一研究发现，和宠物结伴成长的小孩子18岁之前出现动物过敏症状的几率比较小。

此类研究报告刊登在《临床与实验变态反应》上。

The key to this enhanced immunity was having a mostly indoor dog or cat before a baby's first birthday. Infants with cats at home had half the normal risk of a cat allergy when teenagers. And boys with a dog during their first year had half the risk of later allergies to dogs.

获得这种增强免疫的关键在于要在宝宝一周岁之前就在家里养宠物小狗或小猫。婴儿时期家里养猫的话，青少年时期对猫过敏的可能性就会减少一半；小男孩一岁之前身边有只小狗的话，以后对狗过敏的可能性也会减少一半。

Researchers are still debating why early pet exposure helps keep allergies at bay. Some think that all the extra dust, dander and bacteria train a baby’s immune system, stopping it from reacting unnecessarily.

不过，为什么早期与宠物接触会降低婴儿将来的过敏几率呢？研究人员对此仍意见不一。有人认为宠物身上的灰尘、皮屑、细菌都会让婴儿的免疫系统产生反应，阻止不必要的反应。

Now, getting your toddler to stop pulling the cat's tail, that's another question.

不过要阻止你的小宝宝去揪猫咪的尾巴那就是另一回事了哦~