I’ve never been a big fan of antibacterial soaps. Years ago, when they first became popular, I wasn’t really an adopter of the product. After the swine flu began making headlines, everyone seemed to be stocking up on antibacterial and disinfectant products. Okay, the first thing that I did was giggle. The swine flu is a virus, not a bacteria. Beyond that, though, I just didn’t see the hype. Now this isn’t to say that they aren’t valuable, anywhere, but I don’t see their value in the masses using them multiples times a day.
With my disposition towards skipping the hand sanitizers during my bi-weekly shopping trips, I certainly found an article on a New Zealand website to be right up my alley. Kim Knight’s article, Disinfecting could make you sick, appeared on the Stuff website yesterday. Evidently health officials in the country are coming out against the mass use of disinfectants.
But products promising to rid homes of “99.9% of bacteria” could actually be exposing us to nastier bugs, said Simmons [Greg Simmons, Ministry of Health chief adviser for population health].
“Humans are absolutely covered in bacteria – millions and millions of them. The gut is full of them, the skin is covered in them, and they are a cocktail of what we would call benevolent microbes.
Simmons said the “vast majority” were harmless.” Source: Stuff.co.nz
The article goes on to explain that following basic precautions, including proper hand washing techniques, will help prevent many unwanted illnesses.
In case you aren’t sure what, exactly, qualifies as proper hand washing, check out this U.S. CDC video.
Photo by bratha
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I agree, Melissa. I think the routine use of these sanitisers is a dangerous and unnecessary waste of time and money. The advertising that shows children being in danger of getting sick from normal micro-organisms in the home annoys me. Really, are their parents going to disinfect the whole house?
The only times I ever use one is when I’m caring for someone with a contagious illness (e.g. cleaning soiled clothing of someone with a stomach bug) or when we are camping and don’t have access to warm water to wash our hands in between going to the toilet and preparing meals.
We have them at work at the moment as an anti-swine flu measure, and I’ve just received an email saying the suppliers have said that we are ‘very naughty’ for not using them much. Thanks, but I’ll stick to hot water and normal soap.
I laughed at the suppliers chastising you for not using them enough hehe. I have used the sanitizers will camping, as well. I do think that they have their place, but definitely not at the level they are being used. Thanks for your comment.