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Parents who clean obsessively take note - a little bit of dust may be good for baby.
Researchers at Otago University's Wellington School of Medicine have found that infant wheezing and skin rashes are linked to a toxin present in large quantities in house dust.
House dust typically contains copious amounts of endotoxins, produced by the breakdown of bacteria.
But the good news is that while it may make the child uncomfortable early on, the evidence is growing that it may also avert the development of asthma and other allergic diseases later in life.
The study of 881 infants under 15 months of age in Wellington and Christchurch found that children with higher levels of endotoxins in their bedroom have more wheezing and more eczema-like rashes, particularly if the child has a family history of allergic disease.
But Professor Julian Crane, director of the Wellington Asthma Research Group, said research overseas had suggested that early exposure might be beneficial.
Professor Crane cited a European study that found children who were regularly brought into animal stables early in life were at 10 less prone to allergies.
