New parents are especially concerned with doing everything they can to keep their children safe.
That may include creating a clean home and keeping germs away from children. To some extent, these instincts are good. Keeping children away from known allergic triggers during the first year of life may help prevent asthma from developing, according to Canadian doctors. They found that children were less likely to develop asthma and allergies if parents breast fed them, kept pets away from them, kept the environment as free of household dust as possible, and avoided exposure to cigarette smoke. This was true even if asthma ran in the family.