How Good is This Bizarre Idea of Sucking on Your Kid's Pacifier?

Should parents clean the pacifiers used by their children by sucking on them? Even though the very thought of such an act may look outright funny or even absurd, there may be some merit in it, researchers said. Researchers said, it is a good practice to clean pacifiers in this manner as it can be protective against childhood allergies and asthma.

Though, there is no concrete evidence that this technique actually helps in protecting kids against allergies , scientists feel that the transfer of mouth microbes from parents to baby can help improve the bacterial diversity of the child's digestive system. This can help strengthen the child’s immunity.

There is no conclusive proof that the pacifier cleaning method actually protects kids against asthma and eczema and researchers felt it may be a bit premature to suggest this technique to parents.

"It's always hard to tell if it's the only explanation, but we have tried to analyze as many other possibilities as we can think of. This is a simple measure which is really, really nice. But we need a trial to be really sure that this is protective."

For now, it suffices if parents are aware that using their mouth to clean an infant's pacifier could be worth it as it can only cause more good than any harm.

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Source-Medindia