As I read “The dirt on Germs” by Katherine Ashenburg, I kept thinking of all the OCD rituals that take place day to day in my life and the life’s of people around me. Washing hangs regularly, not touching door handles, and using anti-bacterial on everything. People are so paranoid that they now have new products like a U-shaped door pulls in restaurants to avoid touching handles that might have germs, and I thought I was crazy.
As scientists continue testing, they have seen bacteria and germs not as an enemy, but as some importance. They have seen the increase of asthma and other allergies over time, and they feel that it could be because people are so conscious of disinfecting and sanitizing. They tested children living in areas that were polluted and unsanitary, and found that those children were less likely to get asthma or allergies than children that were living in a non-polluted, clean environment. Imagine that. We think we are telling our children the right thing by having them wash their hands after everything they touch, and we are actually doing the opposite. Somehow it must be weakening their immune system by keeping them away from these natural germs that we were exposed to as children every day.
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As scientists continue testing, they have seen bacteria and germs not as an enemy, but as some importance. They have seen the increase of asthma and other allergies over time, and they feel that it could be because people are so conscious of disinfecting and sanitizing. They tested children living in areas that were polluted and unsanitary, and found that those children were less likely to get asthma or allergies than children that were living in a non-polluted, clean environment. Imagine that. We think we are telling our children the right thing by having them wash their hands after everything they touch, and we are actually doing the opposite. Somehow it must be weakening their immune system by keeping them away from these natural germs that we were exposed to as children every day.
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Hello Amy,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting article. I think that everyone should read it. I agree with the scientists saying that allergies and asthma come from trying to keep clean. I think that this information is only a small part of why people have allergies and asthma because they also come from polluted air and chemicals that plants release. It also makes sense to me that children in a polluted and unsanitary environment would be immune to allergies and sickness because their bodies are used to it already. Their bodies tolerate polluted air, chemicals, and germs around them.
I am such a sanitary freak! I need to use hand sanitizor every time I touch something. I use it even when I touch my own things that no one else has touched. I refuse to use public bathrooms too. This article was very interesting for someone like me who is a clean freak. I am glad I am not the only one though.
Cristina Helgoth
Hi Amy,
ReplyDeleteI think the late comedian, George Carlin, would heartily agree with you. He had an old routine that involved talking about his childhood living next to a garbage dump. He lived to a ripe old age and a very healthy one, too (80, I think). I seemed to have heard of a country called India, that boasts millions more people than we have and many wash in the Ganges river daily. Not the cleanest water in the world. If they were dying in droves from the exposure I'm sure they would have stopped by now. People are incredibly sturdy things. We can live pretty much anywhere and get tougher with exposure to extreme situations. I'm glad you brought this issue up. I hope more people read it and think before they scream for more rules and regulations regarding sanitation. Nice graphic!
dee bufano
HI Amy,
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed hearing about this article. My son has pretty bad eczema (a skin rash caused by oversensitivity of the skin). I guess this gives me a reason not to clean house so much!