Parents sucking on pacifier may cut baby's allergy risk

May 6, 2013 2:24:02 PM PDT
How do you clean your baby's pacifier when it drops to the ground? A new study suggests that sucking your baby's pacifier might cut their risk of allergies.

Swedish researchers followed 174 babies and their parents for several years. They found toddlers who had their pacifiers sucked on by their parents were less likely to have allergies, asthma and eczema

The reason -- parents exposed the bacteria in their saliva to their babies, stimulating the babies' young immune systems.

Some pedestrians are skeptical. They say the study was small, and the long-term effects of bacteria exposure are not clear.

Load Comments