(SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN) — Young children who suck their thumbs or bite their nails may be less likely to develop allergies later in childhood, according to a new study that spanned three decades.
Although the results do not suggest that kids should take up these habits, the findings do suggest the habits help protect against allergies that persists into adulthood, the researchers said.
“Many parents discourage these habits, and we do not have enough evidence to [advise they] change this,” said Dr. Robert Hancox, an associate professor of respiratory epidemiology at the University of Otago in New Zealand. “We certainly don’t recommend encouraging nail-biting or thumb-sucking, but perhaps if a child has one of these habits and [it] is difficult [for them] to stop, there is some consolation in the knowledge that it might reduce their risk of allergies.”
