Pet dog may help against eczema

Man's best friend may provide more than unconditional love, as new research shows that young children with a pet dog are less likely to develop eczema later in life.

Alas, the same could not be said for cats, the UK's most popular pet.

Eczema is a chronic skin condition that causes extreme dryness and irritation, most often occurring during childhood.

In the study, US researchers investigated what effect owning a dog or a cat had on the risk of developing eczema later in life, as well as other risk factors.

Some 636 children were tested for 17 different allergies each year from the age of one to four. All children enrolled in the study were more likely to develop allergies as they were born to parents who already suffered from them.

The researchers found that children who tested positive for dog allergies were less likely to develop eczema by age four if they lived with a dog before the age of one.

By contrast, children with dog allergies who did not have a dog at home were four times more likely to develop eczema.

Unlike dog ownership, having a cat as a pet seemed to have a negative effect on children with cat allergies.

"Children who owned a cat before age one and were allergic to cats based on allergy skin testing were 13 times more likely to develop eczema by age four,” said Dr Tolly Epstein at the Cinncinnati Children's Hospital Medical Centre, who carried out the research.

"However, children who were not allergic to cats were not at an increased risk for eczema if they owned a cat,” she added.

Dr Epstein said the findings may help parents of children at high risk for developing eczema when choosing a family pet.

"Our research suggests that exposure to dog allergens early in life may actually have a protective effect against developing future allergies among a high-risk population,” Dr Epstein said.

The study is published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

This article was published on Fri 1 October 2010