What do dogs or cats have to do with your baby’s risk of
catching a cold? According to the latest research, they may help
lower his or her risk of coughs and sniffles during the first
year of life. Reporting in the journal Pediatrics, researchers
say that babies who grow up in homes with a pet — namely a dog
or a cat — are less likely to get sick than children who live
pet-free. The results bolster the notion that keeping infants’
environments overly sanitized isn’t good for their health.
Previous research has linked the presence of pets with a lower
risk of allergies among babies, while a recent study in mice
found that exposure to household dust from homes with a dog
prevented infection with a common respiratory virus that is
thought to increase the risk of childhood asthma. So, how do
pets protect against these diseases? It’s not entirely clear,
but researchers think that exposure to pet dander, as well as
the microbes that pets carry into the home from outdoors, could
prime babies’ still-developing immune