Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Jul 1.
Published in final edited form as: J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2015 Jul;136(1):3–13. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2015.03.048

Table 1.

The Essence of Hygiene: What elements are likely to be relevant to the onset of allergic disease?

Primary Measures
  Clean Water:

  • Complete separation of sources of drinking water from the discharge of untreated sewage

  • Water chlorination

  Uncontaminated Food:

  • Separation of untreated sewage from farming including strict enforcement of restrictions on defecation in fields

  • Strict enforcement of abattoir regulations

  Helminth Eradication:

  • Wearing shoes – control of hookworm

  • Water and food control – Ascaris

  • No swimming in contaminated water – Schistosomiasis

  • Regular (annual) anti-helminth treatment

Secondary Elements
  Decreased Exposure to Farm Animals – decreased diversity of bacterial exposure
  Decreased exposure to older siblings due to small family sizes with resulting decreased transmissible infections (exposure in daycare may have the opposite effect)
  Decreased Exposure to Soil Bacteria