Research presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Munich has shown that sleeping on animal skins in the first three months of life can reduce the risk of developing asthma by up to 80%.
It’s believed that the microbes living in the hides and fur of animal skins prime the immune system not to react to allergens later in life.
The study examined 2,441 healthy babies in Germany over the course of 10 years. 55% of those in the study slept on animal skins in the first three months were 79% less likely to have developed asthma by age six. By age ten, they were 41% less likely to be asthmatic.
These finding add to the growing evidence for the “hygiene hypothesis”, which argues that our modern cleaning habits weaken our immune systems by not coming into contact with as many germs in childhood.
The Lead Researcher on the study, Dr Christina Tischer, spoke about the findings.
“Previous studies have suggested that microbes found in rural settings can protect from asthma. An animal skin might also be a reservoir for various kinds of microbes, following similar mechanisms as has been observed in rural environments.”
“Our findings have confirmed that it is crucial to study further the actual microbial environment within the animal fur to confirm these associations.”
However Dr Samantha Walker, the Director of Research and Policy at Asthma UK, warned parents that the findings are not conclusive and a lot more research on asthma needs to be done.
“This research appears to suggest that early exposure to animal fur may reduce the risk of a child developing asthma,” Dr Walker said.
"This is interesting, although previous studies have not shown a consistent impact of exposure to animal fur in early life on asthma outcomes later on.”
“Asthma is a complex condition so we welcome any new research that helps us understand what causes asthma as it brings us one step closer to curing asthma.”
