Antibacterial Soaps page

[solstice]

Do you try to avoid these in your daily life? We do and I think it's really important for continued health! Sometimes we overfocus on foods when there are a lot of other aspects to re-examine.

Antibacterial Madness « the woodsy gal

[ssn679doc]

From my own personal experience, trying to sanitize all of the spaces that you come in contact with only serves to give you a weak immune system. The immune system is kind of like a muscle, in that the more stuff it is exposed to, the better it performs and helps keep you from getting sick. That doesn't mean I want to go out an lick a platter covered with bubonic plague... but normal every day exposures to a myriad of viruses and bacteria is healthy. With that in mind, you do have to keep in the back of your mind that there are some very nasty bacteria and viruses out there... so use your common sense....

[DinoHunter]

My SIL is a total clean freak.. everything washed & disinfected to death.. Guess what.. shes always sick.. & the rest of the family. colds that last months, flu that they end up in hospital for.. always something.

Seriously.. go play in some mud dirt does a body good

[jojohaligo]

I never use them. And it's not so much that I want to keep my hands germy, but that the ingredients in those soaps and any anti-bacterial products contain ingredients that help the bacteria to become resistant.

Triclosan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And thinking about other products - plastic contact with food (like those little single serving coffee makers, etc.) - non-stick coatings on cookware (whatever did our grandparents do? </end sarcasm>)...

[naiadknight]

I generally don't, given the option. I have no desire to give bugs a chance to become superbugs. Well, that and I see no point in an antibacterial home or me. An antiseptic home means I get sick more and spend all my time cleaning (I have better shit to do), and there is more micro organism than human in your average human, by percentage.
I don't clean my veggies (well, I rinse leafy greens to get rid of the grit); I don't bother with special packaging for the meat (seriously, it's already in a package, it doesn't need another one,); and I only wash my hands in the kitchen after handling particularly greasy items or meat (even that's usually jsut a rinse to get the chunky bits off.)

[solstice]

My SIL is a total germ freak as well...and they are ALWAYS sick....which unfortunately just serves to make her more germ-phobic...and the cycle continues!

[2ndChance]

I read somewhere that antibacterial soap can kill your beneficial gut bacteria... makes sense to me! Not to mention the stuff does a number on my skin, rips it apart, makes it so dry my knuckles crack... And don't even get me started on "Purell"...

[JoanieL]

I use an antibacterial gel after handling raw chicken - I also pour some on a dish cloth and wash the utensils with it. Other than that, I use it when I have to touch the dumpster to toss my garbage. When my boykitty was still alive, I used it after I cleaned his litterbox. That's pretty much it.

Then again, I still use chlorine bleach to wash my whites, and I use commercial products for skin and hair, so I really don't get an "A" in hippie on the non-food level.

[hostetlgaret]

That doesn't mean I want to go out an lick a platter covered with bubonic plague

[texas.grok]

I don't use soap.....ever except to wash dishes, clothes, etc. Yet somehow I have managed to survive. I rarely get sick. My wounds heal quickly despite not scrubbing them with antibacterial soap or putting on antibiotic ointment. I seem to have an immunity system that could kill small animals by itself.

I don't use soap to shower with, don't use shampoo (ok,that is because I don't have any hair). I don't use soap to wash my hands and, in the words of George Carlin, "I don't wash my hands after I use the bathroom unless I shit on my hands which happens, tops, 2 or 3 times a week".

Research the hygiene hypothesis.

I think part of my robust immunity system was that I was a paramedic for a long time and was exposed to damn near everything including active TB. I think it was one of those "what doesn't kill me only makes me stronger" type things.