Hilary Barry explains why parents shouldn't sterilise their baby's dummies

It turns out parents shouldn't be washing their baby's dummies as thoroughly as they think.

According to a new study from the Journal of Allery and Clinical immunology sterilising dummies with antiseptic solution has been linked to children developing food allergies.

Researcher Victoria Soriano says the link is due to sterilisation killing good bacteria as well as the bad.

"These findings support the growing recognition of the importance of good bacteria, known as ‘microbiome’, in our mouth and gut on healthy growth and development," she said.

However, giving your baby's dummy a rinse under hot water is still completely fine, adding that the study "should not discourage the cleaning of dummies, as this is a vital step in keeping a child safe from the more immediate risk of infectious diseases."

"There is also no evidence from this study that cleaning dummies by other methods is harmful."

Interesting!

Listen above to hear Hilary Barry explain it all. 

Follow the 3pm Pick-Up on Facebook and Instagram and tune into the podcast on iHeartRadio.