Repeated use of popular antibacterial soaps on children might actually contribute to the development of chronic diseases, according to Tufts University microbiologist Dr. Stuart Levy, who spoke today at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases in Atlanta… In fact, the efforts of humans to keep their bodies and the things they touch bacteria-free are misguided, Levy says. “The vast majority of bacteria are out there serving a purpose for us. Helping our intestinal track mature, helping our immune system mature.”

His theory is part of what is called “The Hygiene Hypothesis.” It states that when young children do not get enough exposure to bacteria, some scientists suspect the immune system can overreact to pollen or dust, or other ordinarily harmless substances. And that, scientists say, may be the reason for the rapidly rising rates of asthma and allergy.

“The Hygiene Hypothesis is all about killing the good bugs that we need to stimulate our immune systems in our body and provide competition with the bad bugs,” says Professor Michael Osterholm of the University of Minnesota.

“Dousing everything we touch with antibacterial soaps and taking antibiotic medications at the first sign of a cold can upset the natural balance of microorganisms in and around us, leaving behind only the ‘superbugs,’” Levy says.”

You germophobe. Go see a psychiatrist.

There’s the blue foam dispensers. They don’t really smell like anything, but (as with most “unscented” things), if you put your hand right to your nose and take a REALLY deep breath, you can smell the soap, and it doesn’t smell very good.

Then there’s the other, liquid soap. In one of the restrooms with liquid soap, it smells, and it smells A LOT. I’m not talking a bad smell, it’s a good smell, but it’s too much. Ten minutes after using it you can smell it wafting up to your nose, and a half hour after using that soap, you can still smell it on your hands.

I prefer the ones that’s mostly unscented better, because it doesn’t leave a very strong smell.

Here’s my philosophy:
Yes, bathrooms are germy, more so than most other places, but consider for a second going to a bathroom that had just been cleaned and been completely sterile. Also consider that your penis is sterile. But, say you haven’t washed your hands in a few hours. During that time, germs have been building up on your hands as you’ve been going about your business. So, even if you didn’t get dirty while using the bathroom, it’s still a good opportunity to wash your hands anyway since your hands have gotten germy from doing normal stuff, and the longer you go without washing your hands the more germy they get, helping to spread those germs. So, I’d say there are four reasons why you should wash your hands

1. It’s been a while since you last did it, and you should wash your hands a few times a day just to be sanitary (not only in the winter, but the rest of the year too).
2. Your genitals may be dirty, not only in the pathogen or bacteria sense, but also from sweat, traces of dry precum from masturbating, sex fluids, and drops of urine from prior times going to the bathroom
3. The bathroom’s not a very clean place. Also, though it’s bad to not wash your hands, I’d say it’s about 5 times worse if you don’t flush the toilet after you pee, and 20 times worse if you don’t flush after you poop. If I had to choose between someone that doesn’t wash and someone that doesn’t flush, I’d choose the person that didn’t wash, since though the dirty unwasher might pose some threat to my health (and, by not washing, is making the bathroom a dirtier place), the person who doesn’t flush is making the bathroom stinkier, which is a more immediate and visible concern
4. There’s the emotional aspect. Let’s face it, even right out of the shower, the genitals are a “dirty” part of the body. Though you might touch a friend’s shoulder, head, or hand, it’s extremely rare that you’ll actually be comfortable touching their genitals, even if they were completely sterile (bacteria-wise, that is). By not washing, it’s like that after someone uses the bathroom, if you touch their hands it’s like touching their genitals, or for one more level of separation, if they touch something with their unwashed hands, and you touch it, it’s only a 3 way line of disconnect from touching their genitals, which is sort of unnerving. Washing somehow almost completely rids of that feeling, and rather than seeing the hand as a kind of surrogate for the penis, a clean hand is psychologically just a clean hand, rather than the disease carrier we’ve evolved to see it as after observing another person touch something unclean.

Yeah, I’ve thought of this a lot, though I was really more forming this into a structured argument while I was in the process of writing.

Germ studies have shown that in general, the outside part of the bathroom door is cleaner than the inside part. But ironically, the people that say they don’t wash because they’ll just get dirty again by touching the door handle is not only wrong, since few of the germs are replaced while touching the doorknob to exit, but makes them part of the problem.

Your body can’t get strengthened by coming into contact with pathogens it’s never encountered before. And my not washing your hands, your making your body come into contact with more pathogens, some of which it has never come in contact with and it wouldn’t have if you’d washed your hands.

This is America. We have soap and running water. If you really believe that washing your hands runs the “risk of weakening [your] immune system”, then go move to Senegal. By your logic, by never washing your immune system will grow super-strong, and you’ll be immune to sickness.

So, say you start out with your hands 100% dirty. You wash, and remove, let’s say, 95% of the bacteria and viruses on your hands, making them virtually sterile. Then, you briefly touch the faucit handle and door knob, getting a few more germs back on. By that point, you probably have about 15% of the number of bacteria and viruses on your hands as you did before you washed. So though it does replace a few, the act of washing removes far more things from your hands than is replaced when you leave.

Because, you know, before germs were discovered, no one ever got sick. :-/

Can’t you hear how damn PROUD tgladden is for not flushing the toilet?

And how he’s basically talking down to anyone who actually takes 2 seconds to flush?

Hospitals are filled with actual diseases, and doctors put their hands in places much more sensitive than your hands. Normal people don’t come into contact with anything that’s the least bit dangerous.

You could lick the floor of a public bathroom and not even get the sniffles. At least you could if you actually had an immune system.

ever realize that YOU are the one that makes the urinal disgusting by not flushing?

I was going to say my head just exploded, but if that had actually happened, I would have typed a sentence like yours.

As for why you should wash, it’s a common misconception that folks are worried about the urine. Urine is sterile. Speaking for myself, it’s the junk sweat that bothers me most. The bathroom germs are secondary. Imagine this: I go to a bar after a long day’s work. Twig and berries well marinated in crotch sweat. Using the bathroom, I handle my sweaty equipment, and don’t bother to wash – I didn’t pee on my hand. I come out of the bathroom and meet a buddy of mine. We shake hands. The same hand that just handled my sweaty junk is now rubbing against my friend’s hand. My friend has no intention of going down on me, nor does he expect to get my ball sweat on his hand.

That’s the thing. It’s a common courtesy you do for strangers (and your friends). Sure, the girl going down on you isn’t too worried – assuming it’s not too stank down there – and why would she be? By the time she’s down there, you probably already swapped spit with her – hygene isn’t exactly the first thing on her mind – or yours! Otherwise you might give put much through into how close the “V” is to the “A”!

the humANity.