Many times it has been questioned the convenience of babies and children living in the same house as a dog or other animals, while the other side has always highlighted its benefits, both physical and emotional, some more difficult to verify than others.
The friends of the dogs are in luck, because a study confirms that children who live with dogs are healthier. Specifically, these children who live with pets have 30% less respiratory infections such as cough, rhinitis and fever, as well as 50% less ear infections.
They also needed less antibiotics during their first year of life than children without contact to hairy pets. These results suggest that contact with dogs may have a protective effect against infections during the first 12 months of life.
The conclusions are the result of a study carried out over a year on almost 400 children born in the Kuopio University Hospital and which has been published recently in the journal Pediatrics.
As for the contact with cats, which was also analyzed, the study concluded that they are not as “effective” in decreasing the prevalence of respiratory infections. These animals seem to be less suitable for living with babies, because, although research is continuing, there are previous studies that, unlike dogs, increase the incidence of allergies in children.
And regarding the impact of this dog-like relationship with adults in the home, previous studies indicated that the elderly had a greater protective effect on allergic diseases (animal allergens, and also those found in dust and grass ...).
It seems that the truth about dogs and cats in relation to living with children it is clearer, at least as far as respiratory infections are concerned, since other previous studies had pointed in the same direction. Will it have any problem living with these animals?
