Preventing and Reducing Allergies

by Stacey Schifferdecker

When I was a child growing up in Colorado, none of my friends had allergies or asthma. Now, as a parent in Oklahoma, most of my friends’ children suffer from some types of allergies. I’m sure the different climate accounts for some of the difference, but it is also a fact that allergic diseases have increased in Western countries over the last 20 to 30 years. Why are allergies on the rise and how can we deal with them?

Why are allergies on the rise in children?

Ironically enough, it may be the cleanliness of our lifestyles that are causing the rise of some allergies. If children are underexposed to minor environmental threats early in life, their immune systems do not develop properly and can overreact to perceived threats. This doesn’t mean you need to deliberately expose your children to dangerous viruses and bacteria. Simple childhood activities like playing in the dirt, building roads in a sandbox, rolling in the grass, and living with a pet can strengthen your children’s immune systems and help protect them from allergies.

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