“Wash your hands with soap, sanitize, disinfect surfaces” — we have heard this advice repeatedly and passed it on to our children. But when does good hygiene tip into obsession?
The hygiene hypothesis sheds light on this growing concern.
Not every germ in our environment is harmful.
In fact, exposure to certain microbes helps strengthen the immune system, especially in children whose bodies are still learning to defend themselves. Over-indulgence in sanitisation and hyper-cleaning, however, may stall this natural immune development.
This doesn’t mean we should abandon hygiene or invite illness through careless habits. The key is balance.
For instance, if a child constantly wipes every surface, scrubs off every speck of dirt, or wastes water in obsessive cleaning, it raises both health and behavioural red flags.
Studies increasingly link over-sanitised lifestyles to rising autoimmune and allergic conditions such as asthma, eczema and food allergies — particularly in industrialised nations. Research published in PubMed Central notes: “Developed countries have seen a steady increase in atopic disease and immune dysregulation since the 1980s, paralleling a decline in infectious diseases. In contrast, developing nations face fewer autoimmune issues despite higher exposure to infections”.
This is the core of the hygiene hypothesis, first proposed by David Strachan in 1989.
Over the years, it has expanded into the microflora and old friends hypotheses, which emphasise the role of gut bacteria and natural microbial exposure in shaping immunity.
Natural childbirth and breastfeeding further illustrate this. Babies born through the birth canal acquire beneficial bacteria from their mothers and breast milk passes on vital immunoglobulins that no formula can replicate.
Likewise, the gut microbiome — our resident 'friendly bacteria' — is essential for digestion and immunity. Overuse of antibiotics, doctors warn, disrupts this delicate microbial balance.
Our grandparents, who lived closer to nature and worked in farms and fields, often displayed stronger immunity compared to today’s urban generations growing up in sanitised, concrete environments.
The bottom line: don’t overdo hygiene. Let children play in the sand, splash in the sea and experience nature. Cleanliness is important, but over-sanitisation could ironically make us weaker against the very illnesses we are trying to avoid.
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