Should children be allowed to get dirty?

That’s exacly what new U.S. medical research suggests — because too much cleanliness can apparently interfere with the ability of the skin to heal!

According a report in Nature Medicine by a team from the School of Medicine at University of California, San Diego, normal bacteria living on the skin trigger a pathway that helps prevent inflammation when people get hurt.

The common bacterial species known as Staphylococci blocked overactive immune responses that can cause cuts and bruises to swell.

The BBC quotes experts as saying the findings provide an explanation for the “hygiene hypothesis,” which holds that exposure to germs during early childhood primes the body against allergies.