Cherisse Hughes

We have become a society that is obsessed with germs, cooties and bacteria. Oh My!! We are told how we need to disinfect everything we own in order to stay healthy, even ourselves. You hear and see the ads daily, ‘disinfectant kills 99.9% of household germs, kills cold and flu viruses, including H1N1’. I am sorry but I find that really hard to believe, that something so much as a topical ‘spray’ or cleaning cloth could kill 99.9% of germs including the H1N1 virus. If that was true then why are people still getting sick from the common cold or flu?

Wouldn’t it be gone for good with the use of all these so called ‘disinfectants’? I didn’t know you could ‘kill’ a virus, from my limited understanding of viruses they can mutate for hundreds of years. If there is no medication available for the common cold or flu then how is it a spray, cleaning cloths, and hand gel can ‘kill’ such viruses?

Many cleaning product companies are pushing strong marketing campaigns to convince consumers of the need to disinfect everything in their homes, in order to protect their families from illnesses. How true is this really and how are the chemicals in the sprays, cleaning cloths and gels affecting my body and overall health in the long run.

Is there such a thing as being too clean? Are we dirtier today than we were fifty years ago?

The human race has lived with germs and viruses for centuries and will continue doing so, but in the process are we over doing it? In the process to be ‘clean’ aren’t we also killing off the good bacteria that the body needs in order to fight off the bad? Wouldn’t the long term use of antibacterial hand lotions break down the body’s natural defense and in turn harm our immune system? Funny how the Infection Control Manager who is in my department at work has said numerous times, the best defense against the cold and flu is good hand hygiene. How come you don’t hear that on commercials?

I have friends who ‘disinfect’ everything from their kids’ toys to their kitchen counters daily. Last time I looked my kitchen counters were not that dirty, granted I don’t cut raw chicken on my counter top. The only items I need to clean really good daily after preparing a meal is the cutting board and knife. Granted the counters may need to be wiped down with old-fashioned soap and water but using disinfectant spray on them might be a little much.

I am all for such cleaning products, just not the overuse of them. Commercials show germs crawling all over household phones, door handles, children’s toys, etc., and now there is a ‘No-Touch Hand Soap System’ by Lysol. They state your soap pump can harbor hundreds of bacteria….are you kidding me? I see the convenience factor in it but it also seems a little obsessive. Seems like in the war against germs we are not only ‘killing’ the unwanted bacteria but we are also killing the good bacteria we need to keep us healthy.

Do you use anti-bacterial soaps & cleansers? Have the ads made you freaked out about germs?

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animationfactory.com