Just a couple of lay person observations to add here regarding the hygiene hypothesis:
So far it seem hygiene interventions like hand washing, clean water, etc. have been net positive so based on this I think there is cause for optimism around more hygiene interventions. I think the scenario where decreasing infection is possibly harmful is in completely sterile environments but as others have pointed out, far-UVC seems unlikely to eliminate all pathogens we come into contact with. Also, I understand the hygiene hypothesis to be about increasing prevalence of allergies in cleaner environments but I remember reading that we are learning that only specific pathogens are responsible for reducing allergies and not that it is a lack of high levels of exposure to a wide array of diseases
I think I have heard that certain infections can actually weaken your immune system. For example, Harvard Health says that avoiding infection is part of strengthening one’s immune system. I am thinking (and experts have probably explored this) that perhaps one contributing factor to increased infection after lock downs was that covid had weakened people’s immune systems.
Harvard Health says that avoiding infection is part of strengthening one’s immune system
I was intrigued so looked at the link. It has heading “Healthy ways to strengthen your immune system” and says in one bullet point under this “Take steps to avoid infection, such as washing your hands frequently and cooking meats thoroughly”, but doesn’t say anything about why this would help strengthen the immune system (it just links to a page with steps for reducing infection risk). A possible alternative interpretation is that this is meant as advice for not getting sick rather than making the immune system more effective, and this seems more likely to me. But it’s not clear.
Agreed—I wished I could learn more. In any case, I feel really uncertain about the hygiene hypothesis. Given that the advice to “collect bugs” for increased immunity is so widespread and even propagated by doctors it baffles me that it is so hard to find evidence for this advice. The advice also has serious bearing on people’s well-being which is another reason that this claim should be investigated much more closely.
Just a couple of lay person observations to add here regarding the hygiene hypothesis:
So far it seem hygiene interventions like hand washing, clean water, etc. have been net positive so based on this I think there is cause for optimism around more hygiene interventions. I think the scenario where decreasing infection is possibly harmful is in completely sterile environments but as others have pointed out, far-UVC seems unlikely to eliminate all pathogens we come into contact with. Also, I understand the hygiene hypothesis to be about increasing prevalence of allergies in cleaner environments but I remember reading that we are learning that only specific pathogens are responsible for reducing allergies and not that it is a lack of high levels of exposure to a wide array of diseases
I think I have heard that certain infections can actually weaken your immune system. For example, Harvard Health says that avoiding infection is part of strengthening one’s immune system. I am thinking (and experts have probably explored this) that perhaps one contributing factor to increased infection after lock downs was that covid had weakened people’s immune systems.
I was intrigued so looked at the link. It has heading “Healthy ways to strengthen your immune system” and says in one bullet point under this “Take steps to avoid infection, such as washing your hands frequently and cooking meats thoroughly”, but doesn’t say anything about why this would help strengthen the immune system (it just links to a page with steps for reducing infection risk). A possible alternative interpretation is that this is meant as advice for not getting sick rather than making the immune system more effective, and this seems more likely to me. But it’s not clear.
Agreed—I wished I could learn more. In any case, I feel really uncertain about the hygiene hypothesis. Given that the advice to “collect bugs” for increased immunity is so widespread and even propagated by doctors it baffles me that it is so hard to find evidence for this advice. The advice also has serious bearing on people’s well-being which is another reason that this claim should be investigated much more closely.