The hand sanitizer paradox.

[theclemsonkid]

Working in the food industry, and being around a ton of moms with kids... I have seen a disturbing trend the past five years or so. It seems like every mom that comes in here does one thing consistently with her kids, and that is lather them in hand sanitizer before and after they eat their cupcakes.

You know the stuff... comes in little bottles... is supposed to kill 99.9% of all germs on contact. Yada, yada.

Ironically enough, some of my regulars who practice this seem to ALWAYS have a sick child. It's to the point where I can't tell if some of these kids are still sick from the previous week when I saw them last, or if they have moved on to a new bug.

It's somewhat of a running joke that I am never, ever sick. Since I graduated high school in 1999, I have had three colds, and the flu one time, back in college. That's it. People ask me how is it that I'm around people all the time, and money, and have weird hours, and don't sleep a lot... yet I stay healthy.

So I think back to when I was a kid. You know what I didn't do? Cover myself in hand sanitizers.

You know what I DID do? Swim in public pools. Rub dirt in cuts. Eat food that dropped on the floor. Gave high fives to other kids when we were playing sports and sweating like hogs.

I'm no expert of immunity or virus/bacteria strains... but you really have to wonder.

Ever since the boom of the hand sanitizer, these "super bugs" have exploded. MRSA has always been a small problem, but now it's becoming a much, much bigger one. And ironically enough, it's in mostly first world, developed countries where this is happening.

I'm not saying there is a direct cause and effect, but you really have to wonder if its more than a casual coincidence.

 

[bang guy]

Immunity is probably like anything else. If it's not exercised it probably gets weaker.

On one hand you don't want to always be sterile or you won't be able to fight off the first bug that gets through your shell. On the other hand, you don't want to be loaded with nasty germs all the time or your immune system won't be able to keep up.

 

[silverado61]

What???? A moderator talking about moderation? Go figure. Lol

 

[beth]

Actually, there are some studies coming out now that say that using sanitizers, including antibacterial soaps is harmful just for the reasons suggested above. I see an industry crash with this clean fad.

 

[reefraff]

I haven't put a bandage on a cut that wasn't bleeding since I was a kid. The only infection I can remember getting in my adult like is when I got the tank herpes in my thumb a couple years ago. I do not believe I've had the flu in my adult life either. I grew up playing in the fields and swimming in a pond that I wouldn't want to wash my feet in now that I think of it. I think exposure as a kid has a lot to do with how strong your immune system is
.

 

[geridoc]

Reef - what you are describing comes from one of the newest concepts in biology - the microbiome. This idea is that a human being is a superorganism consisting of lots of human cells (your body) accompanied by billions of microorganisms all living in a state of cooperation most of the time. One of the features of that cooperation is that all these organisms confer a resistance to pathological organisms (your observed resistance to infection), among many other benefits. I am very happy that my new grandson has been going to the barn regularly since he was a few weeks old, so he has a good bacterial load already. It is becoming clear that the more diverse the species of bacteria that one is "infected" with, the healthier that individual generally is. You will be hearing much more in the future about this with regard to obesity, behavior and even diseases like cancer. Stay tuned.

 

[reefraff]

Quote:
Originally Posted by GeriDoc http:///t/397577/the-hand-sanitizer-paradox#post_3543963
Reef - what you are describing comes from one of the newest concepts in biology - the microbiome. This idea is that a human being is a superorganism consisting of lots of human cells (your body) accompanied by billions of microorganisms all living in a state of cooperation most of the time. One of the features of that cooperation is that all these organisms confer a resistance to pathological organisms (your observed resistance to infection), among many other benefits. I am very happy that my new grandson has been going to the barn regularly since he was a few weeks old, so he has a good bacterial load already. It is becoming clear that the more diverse the species of bacteria that one is "infected" with, the healthier that individual generally is. You will be hearing much more in the future about this with regard to obesity, behavior and even diseases like cancer. Stay tuned.
Must have been something in that darn pond water that made me fat LOL! We kept animals as well. Gads used to catch critters too. Lizards, snakes spiders (including black widows)