Dear Dr. Drew,

I watched your show for the first time tonight (“The Truth About Germs”). I really enjoyed both the format of the show and the coverage. But one thing that I found lacking was that you never discussed how our hyper-hygiene may be causing more problems than it is solving. The number one thing that I always find lacking in these discussions is how many studies are showing that because we are not being exposed to as many germs as children our immune systems are not learning the difference between good germs and bad germs. This leads to our bodies potentially over-reacting to everything that enters our bodies. That is, we start to suffer from allergies.

I know that many things can cause allergies and that obviously this alone is not the only cause, but I find it very compelling that people with allergies seem to be found mostly in our very clean, urban environments, while people who grow up on farms and in poor countries do not seem likely to develop allergies.

I am interested to know what you think, as well as the opinions of other people who read this thread. Even if you just have a “gut feeling” on the topic please feel free to respond. Thank you everyone for participating in my discussion.

By the way, as a child I had asthma until around four. I developed allergies later in life. I have had Hand Foot and Mouth disease (aka the human version of Hoof and Mouth disease which I picked up from a petting zoo as a kid), west nile, mono three times, and a myriad of other lesser “bugs.” I know that these are all viruses, but I mention it because if anyone should be mortified by "bugs" it should be me, but I’m really not. And, I have found that as I have gotten older, my immune system has gotten stronger and my allergies have all but disappeared. I’m interested if it may be due in part to the fact that I stopped being so concerned about bacteria and viruses.

Sincerely,
Travis