What disease results from a germ free environment?

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it has something to do with the immune system and lymphocytes

I can't find it anywhere :(

"germ free environment" is the hint

someone please help!

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.
it has something to do with the immune system and lymphocytes

I can't find it anywhere :(

"germ free environment" is the hint

someone please help!

A germ that lives in a symbiotic relationship with a host that lives in that environment?

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Compromised immune system? If there are no germs, there is no chance for an immune response and antibody development.

Please let us know the correct answer when you find it!

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Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.

One theory of the rise in allergies and asthma in our society is that as children, our environments are too clean, causing the immune system to "go looking" for something to combat.

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Specializes in Acute Care Psych, DNP Student.

Interesting question because you'd be hard-pressed to find a germ free environment outside of a specially built lab. That said, any of the auto-immune diseases could result from low-germ level environments.

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it was SCID, "bubble boy disease"

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That is interesting...SCID is not caused from a germ-free environment, but instead necessitates a germ-free environment. I hope you argued this if you were counted wrong!

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I agree with Crafty. There's no evidence SCID *results from* a germ-free environment. But like s/he said, it *requires* a germ-free environment. There's a lot of speculation that today's kids have weaker immune systems because they are exposed to less pathogens, but I haven't read anyone saying that SCID is the result.

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well diseases and illnesses are especially prevelant in young children when they are perpetually exposed to germ "free" enviroments....

a newborns immune system depends primarily on antibodies and hence on Th2 lymphocytes. the Th1 system is eductated and gets stronger as a result of encounters with microbes-both harmful and harmless. if such "exercise" doesn't occur, immune balance is upset and the Th2 system flourishes, causing the immune system to teeter towards allergies. unhappily, "our" desire to keep children squeeky clean with antibiotics that kill off both harmful and harmless bacteria may derail normal immune development...

also keeping our skin and for example home enviroments abnormally clean excludes the good germs that "hog up" all the space on surfaces and makes room for pathogens..

there is a list of diseases that can result from germ "free" enviroments :down:.

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Specializes in student; help!.
One theory of the rise in allergies and asthma in our society is that as children, our environments are too clean, causing the immune system to "go looking" for something to combat.

I so don't worry about that with my kids. :lol2:

Between the chickens, ducks, turkeys, cat, occasional pig/sheep, I think they get exposed to plenty of germs. I do believe that kids in cities are also more likely to develop asthma, and some are linking exposure to roaches for some reason. But I saw that years ago and it may be debunked by now. I think roaches are actually supposed to be fairly clean animals. I think the air pollution makes more sense, but I don't write studies.

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