Immunologist Graham Rook of University College, London, thinks that contact with the bacteria in soil and water is essential for regulatory cells in our immune systems to develop properly.   But, Rook says, parents shouldn’t get too obsessive about rolling in the mud either!

Krishna ate mud One day, Krishna, the son of Yashoda was toddling around while his mother was churning butter. Suddenly she saw him put in a handful of mud into his mouth. "What are you doing?", she screamed as any other mother would, "Open your mouth". He opened his mouth and she saw all creation, the earth and its mountains and oceans, the moon and the stars, and all the planets and regions. She was wonderstruck to see the land of Vraja and the village of Gokula, herself standing there with the child Krishna beside her with a wide-open mouth, and within that mouth another universe, and so on and on and on. "0 God!" she thought. "Am I going mad or is this a dream or the magic wrought by this strange child of mine?" "Krishnaaa" she cried. He shut his mouth, and in a thrice, she had almost forgotten what she had seen. "Why have you been eating....." She stopped in mid-sentence. What a fool she was! This child carried the whole universe within himself and she was worrying about a few grains of sand!

Kids who are overly hygienic appear to be at increased risk of developing wheezing — a symptom of asthma — and the allergy-related skin condition eczema. The investigators found that children with the highest degree of personal hygiene — those who washed their faces and hands more than five times per day, cleaned before meals, and bathed more than two times each day — were the most likely to develop eczema and wheezing between the ages of 30 and 42 months.

Scientists are working on a vaccine made from Mycobacterium vaccae, a substance found naturally in soil. Dr Ratko Djukanovic, a respiratory physician working at Southampton University, took up on the research after Dr Rook and team. "Allergy results from an imbalance between the good stimuli of the immune system, which modern living has taken away, and increased exposure to allergens because of the way we build our homes. This vaccine could compensate for the change in the way we relate to the environment," Dr Djukanovic says.

According to Tufts University microbiologist, Dr Stuart Levy, "The ingredients in soaps and cleansers intended to fight bacteria could promote the growth of drug-resistant 'superbugs' that might otherwise be kept in check with just a vigorous scrub".

So, next time Mom shouts 'Bath time', you know what to say!