母亲的疾病对孩子的皮肤有益

The children of women with untreated worm infections while pregnant had fewer cases of eczema, lending further credence to the \”hygiene hypothesis\” that says some immune challenges may have long-term benefits. Cynthia Graber comments

怀孕期间患有蠕虫感染疾病，并未得到治疗的母亲所生的婴儿，很少会得湿疹。这增加了“一些对免疫系统的考验也许会让人长期受益”这个“卫生学假说”的可信度。 Can we be too clean? According to what’s called the hygiene hypothesis, yes. Without being challenged as kids, our immune systems don’t flourish. Scientists think it could be part of the rise of allergies and asthma.

我们真的太干净了吗？根据所谓的卫生学假说，是的。如果不在小孩的时候就经受考验，我们的免疫系统是不会强大起来的。科学家们认为，这可能是过敏类和哮喘类疾病发病率上升的原因之一。 Now a new study supports the hygiene hypothesis: infants in Uganda had a lower chance of developing the skin allergy condition eczema if their moms had helminth worm infections while pregnant. The research is in the journal Pediatric Allergy and Immunology.

现在，一个新的研究支持了这个卫生学假说：乌干达的婴儿很少有机会患上湿疹这种皮肤过敏症，前提是他们母亲在怀孕期间肚子里面有蛔虫。这个研究发表在儿科过敏反应和免疫学杂志上。 A 2005 study showed that the kids of women treated for worm infections had more eczema. Twenty-five hundred pregnant women took part in this follow-up research. Some got one worm-killing drug. Others took a different drug. And a third group received a placebo. One drug nearly doubled the kids’ risk of eczema. The other more than doubled the odds.

一个2005年的研究表明，治疗了蛔虫感染的妈妈们的孩子湿疹的发病率较高。2500名怀孕妇女参加了这项跟踪研究。一些人吃了一种杀虫药。另外一些人吃另外一种杀虫药。第三群人吃的则是安慰剂。吃其中一种杀虫药的妈妈所生的孩子患有湿疹的风险翻倍了。吃另外一种杀虫药的妈妈所生孩子患有湿疹的风险翻倍还要多。 Helminth worm infections can give the mothers symptoms such as mild anemia or stomach pain and vomiting. Although many people have no symptoms at all. The scientists say more research is needed before they would recommend not treating worm infections. But the work lends additional support to the idea that hygiene may be a balancing act rather than a goal.

蛔虫感染能让妈妈们患上一些症状，比如轻度贫血，胃疼，呕吐。但是也有一些人完全没有任何症状。科学家们说，在建议妈妈们不治疗蛔虫感染以前，还必须要做更多的研究。但是这项研究对这样的观念提供了又一支撑，那就是：卫生是平衡手段，而不是目的。