HYGIENE HYPOTHESIS

INTRODUCTION :

In medicine, the hygiene hypothesis states that early childhood exposure to particular
microorganisms (such as the gut Flora and helminth parasites) protects against allergic
diseases by contributing to the development of the immune system. 

STRACHAN’S FORMULATION OF HYGIENE HYPOTHESIS

Strachan's original formulation of the hygiene hypothesis also centered around the idea that
smaller families provided insufficient microbial exposure partly because of less person-to-person
spread of infections, but also because of "improved household amenities and higher standards
of personal cleanliness”. It seems likely that this was the reason he named it the "hygiene
hypothesis". Although the "hygiene revolution" of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries may
have been a major factor, it now seems more likely that, although public health measures such
as sanitation , potable you water and garbage collection  were instrumental in reducing our
exposure to cholera, typhoid and so on, they also deprived people of their exposure to the "old
friends" that occupy the same environmental habitats.

ON BIOLOGICAL BASIS:
The primary proposed mechanism of the hygiene hypothesis is an imbalance between the TH1
and TH2 subtypes of T helper cells. Insufficient activation of the TH1 arm would stimulate the
cell defense of the immune system and lead to an overactive TH2 arm, stimulating the antibody-
mediated immunity of the immune systems, which in turn led to allergic disease.

History

The changes in hygiene standards seen throughout the industrial revolution of the nineteenth
and twentieth centuries brought about vast improvements in sanitation, potable water and
garbage collection. These are thought to have reduced exposure to many infectious diseases
such as cholera and typhoid. However, these measures may also have reduced exposure to
helpful microbial substances that help the body to achieve tolerance to potential environmental
triggers for allergies.
In 1989, David Strachan suggested that the steep rise in allergic diseases such as asthma and
hay fever seen in the 20th century might be attributable to a lower incidence of infection in early
childhood. This observation sparked the beginning of the hygiene hypothesis
BIOME DEPLETION

The hygiene hypothesis is also sometimes referred to as the biome depletion theory, or
the “old friends” theory, is a hypothesis that states that the cause of allergic disease
may be immune intolerance resulting from inadequate exposure to parasites and
microbes in childhood.

In other words, the family size, improved household furnishing, increased cleanliness
and lower infection rate, along with immunizations against many childhood diseases,
have been responsible for atopy. This is because these factors merge to create an
environment which offers low chances for cross-infections within a family