Paw-some! Owning a dog may cut risk of children getting eczema, study suggests trends now
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Owning a dog might help your future children — by slashing their risk of eczema, research suggests.
US experts tracked eczema rates in almost 800 children under the age of two and looked at whether their parents kept a dog indoors during pregnancy or in the first year they were born.
Being exposed to a dog appeared to have a 'significant protective effect' against developing eczema in children, they claimed.
Researchers from Henry Ford Health in Detroit, Michigan, found being exposed to a dog in early childhood has a 'significant protective effect' against developing eczema in under-twos
The team from Henry Ford Health in Detroit, Michigan, said dogs' diverse bacteria could help children's immune development, staving off the condition.
Eczema, which affects up to one in five children and one in 10 adults, is an inflammatory condition that causes the skin to become itchy, dry and cracked.