Hygiejne

Hygiejne (af navnet på den græske gudinde for sundhed Hygieia) er læren om renlighed. Ordet bruges også om at gøre eller holde rent. Det omfatter rutiner til opnåelse og opretholdelse af sundhed og renhed for mennesker, dyr og andre organismer. Tidligt stod det klart, at renlighed fremmer sundheden. Overdreven hygiejne har til dels med rette^[1], fremkaldt modstand i befolkningen. Ironisk nok af ordsproget

Renlighed er en god ting, sagde kællingen. Hun vendte særken nytårsaften.
—Gammelt dansk ordsprog

^ Brigham and Women's Hospital (2012, March 22). Getting the dirt on immunity: Scientists show evidence for hygiene hypothesis. ScienceDaily Citat: "...They found that germ-free mice had exaggerated inflammation of the lungs and colon resembling asthma and colitis, respectively. This was caused by the hyperactivity of a unique class of T cells (immune cells) that had been previously linked to these disorders in both mice and humans...Moreover, the protection provided by early-life exposure to microbes was long-lasting, as predicted by the hygiene hypothesis..."

[1] Brigham and Women's Hospital (2012, March 22). Getting the dirt on immunity: Scientists show evidence for hygiene hypothesis. ScienceDaily Citat: "...They found that germ-free mice had exaggerated inflammation of the lungs and colon resembling asthma and colitis, respectively. This was caused by the hyperactivity of a unique class of T cells (immune cells) that had been previously linked to these disorders in both mice and humans...Moreover, the protection provided by early-life exposure to microbes was long-lasting, as predicted by the hygiene hypothesis..."

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