What about increasing our exposure to bacteria?
For example, rats and rabbits that have fevers suppressed die faster after exposure to bacteria.
But recent rainy autumns in upstate New York increased exposure to bacteria.
His illness had been diagnosed as hypersensitivity pneumonitis, an inflammation of the lungs usually caused by chronic exposure to bacteria, mold or dust.
Human history suggests that our immune system does a reasonably good job of protecting us and that some exposure to bacteria may even help strengthen our ability to fight off the next round of infections.
The scientists involved believe that babies born by caesarean miss out on exposure to bacteria in the birth canal that colonise the baby's gut and may ultimately change the body's metabolic rate - and even how hungry we feel.
I required visitors to Brad's room to wear a mask, a gown, and gloves, and instructed the nurses not to give him raw food, in order to limit his exposure to bacteria.
Some immunologists believe that children now growing up in hyperclean, sterile environments are failing to develop immune systems properly because of inadequate exposure to bacteria.
Exposure to bacteria in the vagina during birth is thought to play a key role in priming the immune system, providing a defence against the development of allergies.
In Caesarean children, exposure to bacteria happens later and research has shown they have different intestinal flora – gut bacteria – suggesting the maturation of their immune systems is delayed.
Some people believe there is weight in the "hygiene hypothesis" – the theory, first proposed more than 20 years ago by David P Strachan, professor of epidemiology at St George's in London, that limiting children's exposure to bacteria and parasites early on in life will lead to a greater likelihood of allergies, asthma and autoimmune diseases when they are older.
