Fewer Allergies: A Possible Upside of Thumb Sucking and Nail Biting

Probably a lot more hand sanitizer and other precautions that aren't in your house too.

You end up with highly contagious pathogens that you'd never find in your home (Hand, Foot & Mouth, for example) and higher incidence of things like conjunctivitis, but since everyone in licensed group care facilities is vaccinated against the real baddies, that stuff is no more frequent. What parents bank on is that the persistent coughs & colds that are so common will eventually lead to stronger immune systems. As a parent of 2 elementary school kids who both did group daycare/preschool, I have 0 useful data to share. My kids got sick regularly in preschool, don't get sick as often in elementary school, but when one gets sick (with a viral infection) generally everyone else in the family still gets sick, too.

I'd also be curious about children who grow up in rural, suburban and urban areas.

I live in New York, I often forget to wash my hands when I come home from riding the subway and start hugging my kid one of whose favorite games is "chew on dad". I'm trying to balance out the fear of her catching some exotic imported disease with the hope that her immune system is getting used to handling a variety of invaders.

The type of germs that kids share with each other are different to what you can pick up from the dirt. I suspect (though I would love to find evidence) that upper respiratory infections are far more common today than they were in the past. We now have dense cities, global travel, compulsory schooling, and a large global population for colds and flus to diversify in.

On the other hand we have less exposure to the bacteria and parasites that live in the dirt and on animals. They trigger (and modulate) a different part of the immune system associated with allergies.

Luckily all his teeth will eventually fall out

The article focuses on this issue when thumb-sucking begins to affect secondary teeth, as hammock and the article point out it becomes an issue when the behavior is retained with secondary teeth. 3.5 years seems like he's reaching the threshold for when to ween.

"There can be downsides to thumb sucking, as it can lead to problems from pushing secondary teeth as they come in. But those don’t come in until later, when children are in elementary school. Most children stop sucking their thumb by themselves before they get to elementary school. The American Dental Association recommends that parents start encouraging their children to stop sucking their thumb after age 4 — but even then, they advocate a gentle, positive approach. Many children suck to relieve anxiety, and making them anxious about sucking can backfire! Instead, praise children for not doing it — and help them find other ways of soothing themselves. Putting a Band-Aid on the thumb can help them remember; at night, using a sock or something similar can help with the child who sucks their thumb without realizing it. But again, this is only an issue for older children."

My little brother was starting to have the same problem as his secondary teeth were coming in when he was five years old. The dentist sat down and simply told him: "if you keep sucking your thumb, your new teeth are going to come in crooked and it's going to look really bad, and we are going to have to do more adjustments and visits here". My brother stopped sucking his thumb cold-turkey.

Granted, he's always been a determined kid :)

FWIW, we just weaned (as in, this week) my 3.5yo daughter. That nasty nail polish stuff worked perfectly. Took her a little longer to fall asleep the first two nights, but now it's no big deal.

Anecdotally, I grew up in the land of hand sanitizers and abundant soap, playing in mud, weeding the garden, and catching bugs. I had allergy shots until my teens, and I often still feel like I have a permanent minor cold, which gets better or worse, depending on what's blooming. Moving from Michigan to north Florida seems to have made it worse.

Different pollen, which your immune system had never seen before.

> electronic devices that are rarely if ever kept sanitary

I think electronics can be coated with an antibacterial film to prevent infections.

Glad I was eating porridge for that one haha

You beat me to it!

Nasal secretions should be good sources of airborne pathogens. Different pathogen profile from fingernails, etc. Wider challenges for a developing immune system.

> Are there immune-boosting workshops where children are exposed to allergens of all kinds (perhaps gradually increasing the exposure)?

Yes. They're called "the outside world", and hard as this is to believe, you can sometimes even find your child a spot in one free of charge!

This is a bit pedantic, but allergies are the result of an overactive immune system, not a weak one. The immune system is treating harmless particles (pollen, dander, etc.) as dangerous pathogens that need to be dealt with harshly (sneezing, runny noses, etc.)

Must have dirty fingers for this to work though.

Some folks just have allergies - genetic predisposition, perhaps. It isn't that allergies were unknown before the 'modern' world, simply less common than they are now.

Yeah, I used to be gross when I was younger (biting my nails, nibbling on pens...), and it didn't prevent me from developing some of the worst allergies imaginable. I can't even eat 90% of food types lest I enter a pseudo-drunken allergic state of stupor.

Certain kinds of cigarette vapors make my ears and throat constrict in a matter of seconds.

Do your eyes get red and your mouth very dry? Try eating something tasty.