Guest SerenityNow Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 I was watching The Weather Channel this morning and my jaw about hit the floor. They had a little quicky segment in which the announcer said "Take anti-bacterial wipes/hand cleaner" on your trip to the beach. He then precedes to say that studies show bacteria is more prevalent in the sand than it is in the water, including ecoli from birds and human waste. [shot of beach with children playing in the sand in Chicago] He speaks about how one beach brought in brand new sand, and that two weeks later the same amount of bacteria as prior. The spokesman then gives an overkill about children playing in the sand, building castles, getting buried, etc. The final "warning" was to wipe your children, DO NOT bring food and/or drinks to the beach because the sandy fingers will contaminate the food and the children will swallow it, be careful that your child does not put their fingers in their mouth while at the beach, and to take a LONG hot bath when you get home to remove all traces of bacteria. Okay, I 'm all about preventing disease and illness but does anyone else find this RIDICULOUS? I for one think that all this anti-bacterial overuse is one reason people can't get over things anymore, we're babying ourselves right into sickness. All this anti-bacterial stuff not only removes the "bad" bacteria but the good also. Alright, I'm finished. Just think our country tends to blow these things out of proportion, just a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkenmoon Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 I'm all for being careful... but I agree... that's extreme. How do you build up an immune system worth anything if you basically live in a bubble? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doomguarder Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 I have always been fairly anti drug. My mother was over prescribed penicillin as a child and now has a life long allergy to the entire drug group. I wash my hands, with normal soap, and clean surfaces in my home with a bleach sani-solution. But nothing anti biotic in my home. I have only been seriously sick once in the last 7 years. That was caused by exposure to a 3rd grade teacher who is a great friend of my mothers. She sneezed right in my face and I got the only fever I have had since I was a child. Most of the time I feel bad for maybe 12 hours and then all symptoms are gone. Given the opportunity to respond to bacteria, the human body normally makes cells to fight the invaders. Some things need treatment. Colds, more common than flu, are in no way effected by antibiotics, but antibiotics are commonly prescribed for such. About two years ago I had a bad case of “Cedar Fever” an allergic reaction to cedar pollen that has many of the same symptoms of a cold or flu. I went to the doctor just to make sure I did not have a sinus infection. He did not even run any tests before he tried to prescribe one of the seriously strong antibiotics. I refused to take it and did not even accept the prescription. I had to change doctors not to long after that when he asked me to answer a small questionnaire regarding my mental state. I refused again. Over use of antibiotics is causing the rise of super-bacteria, untreatable by conventional means. At least I know I am not part of this trend. Just some thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurisaz Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 I'm all for being careful... but I agree... that's extreme. How do you build up an immune system worth anything if you basically live in a bubble? Hey, that does have a certain logic. You get to milk the cows twice. First, people buy all the disinfectants you sell... and later, when they developed multiple allergies due to their bored immune systems, they buy the anti-allergy drugs you sell. And yes, such things to help to accelerate the evolution of bacteria into species like ORSA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 Okay, I 'm all about preventing disease and illness but does anyone else find this RIDICULOUS? I for one think that all this anti-bacterial overuse is one reason people can't get over things anymore, we're babying ourselves right into sickness. All this anti-bacterial stuff not only removes the "bad" bacteria but the good also. Agreed. There are studies showing that anti-bacterial soap doesn't get rid of any more germs than regular soap. Also, the bacteria are building up a resistance to antibiotics because of it. If you buy anti-bacterial soap, you're just paying extra for the marketing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtdude Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 On TV at the moment is an ad for a disinfectant (I think) showing food on a toilet seat cover, claiming that there are more germs on a cutting board than a toilet seat. This is soooooooo American. My friends in France constantly harass me about the germ-phobic wackos here. And they are right. If you constantly clean everything, your body doesn't retain its own defense. Of course, the French make up for it by being the leaders in the world of prescription drugs...hmmm It shoe horns in with our cultural eating disorders, of overcompensating for a vitamin or mineral "need," or some dietary element that a slim piece of research claims that we need. All of a sudden: pow! Bottles of Vitamin X are flying off the shelves because of some research tidbit. How we worship anorexic models is just weird. And what the models go through to look like that: just turn on E! True Story to see what's up. (sad) But how many Amercians get off their fat asses and go jogging, or swimming? Precious few. Obesity is rampant, but we're obsessing over germs and getting enough B12. Thanks for the chance to rant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 But how many Amercians get off their fat asses and go jogging, or swimming? Precious few. Obesity is rampant, but we're obsessing over germs and getting enough B12 Keep in mind that the big determination factor of obesity is the BMI, which was just lowered recently, so thousands of people woke up fat even though they had normal bodies the day before. And people like me who eat right and do exercise are considered "obese" simply because we aren't a size 6. Jeez, maybe if people were actually allowed to accept themselves the way they are, and stop the damn yo-yo dieting, which doesn't do anyone any good, and actually start eating everything sensibly and exercising instead of looking for the next quick get-skinny pill or fad diet, we might have fewer truly obese people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadfox Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 Germ phobia sells here, both in headlines and cleaning products. I read the stupidest article on MSN on how dangerous it can be to reuse plastic water containers due to the bacteria from your mouth building up in it. My solution: wash it out first with hot water! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sokudo Ningyou Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 Keep in mind that the big determination factor of obesity is the BMI, which was just lowered recently, so thousands of people woke up fat even though they had normal bodies the day before. And people like me who eat right and do exercise are considered "obese" simply because we aren't a size 6. Jeez, maybe if people were actually allowed to accept themselves the way they are, and stop the damn yo-yo dieting, which doesn't do anyone any good, and actually start eating everything sensibly and exercising instead of looking for the next quick get-skinny pill or fad diet, we might have fewer truly obese people. I'm a size 4-6, and according to the BMI, I'm still overweight, because I'm 5'4''. Shit, I've only changed half a pant size or so in the last ten years; if I lost ten pounds, I'd probably lose what curve I have. I'd look even more like a damn boy. And I ride my bike two miles every day. Don't have a license; don't particularly want one. Living in a village of about two miles wide and three deep means it's asinine to be driving a car to work or the grocery store. George Carlin says "your body needs germs to practice on" and I agree with him. I don't wash my hands all the time before I eat. I wash my hands after I go the bathroom, i'm not a total idiot but everytime I touch food that I'm going to eat I don't. I really do think that by allowing your body to be exposed to germs on a day to day basis without trying to build up a forcefield of anti-bacterial protection around yourself, strengthens your body's immune system. You really do need "germs to practice on." If you are totally shielded from everything, it does your immune system no good. Especially when those bacteria that evolved past anti-bacterial soap come a callin. I might be about to disgust people, but I don't wash after going to the bathroom unless something gets on my hands. That's what toilet paper is for. As George Carlin also pointed out, a man washing his hands after pissing might as well be washing his dick as well; it had to have been dirty to begin with, because you're not touching anything else. Urine is, from what I've heard, also technically sterile, so it shouldn't do anything to your hands anyway. I rarely wash my hands unless they're visibly dirty to begin with. I shower every other day; that takes care of it. And I'm so rarely sick, I almost wish I could drop my health insurance. I don't need it. Granted, my mom raised me on homeopathic remedies and doctors -- I don't think I have a lot of shots I'm supposed to from childhood -- and I do take medication on the rare times it's actually prescribed to me, but I don't usually finish them. And I hate taking aspirin. The kids I work with, however.....wow. The most obsessive about cleanliness were also the ones most often sick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Carrion Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 We get a few of the U.S news channels over here (FOX, C.N.N, etc) and I am never less than appalled at some of the raw feaces they spout in the name of ratings-mongering sensationalism. Take the recent London train bombings; skipping through the various news channels shortly after the bombing occured, after only 33 were confirmed dead, FOX was flashing the following information: 150 confirmed dead. More than 1000 seriously injured. Truly, I wanted to vomit in disgust. I never thought I'd find myself agreeing with the fat oaf Michael Moore, but in the movie "Bowling for Columbine" he made the quite excellent point that U.S paranoia concerning germs, crime, terrorism, etc can be quite effectively attributed to claims and attitudes established and promoted by the media. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-COG Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 I never thought I'd find myself agreeing with the fat oaf Michael Moore, but in the movie "Bowling for Columbine" he made the quite excellent point that U.S paranoia concerning germs, crime, terrorism, etc can be quite effectively attributed to claims and attitudes established and promoted by the media. That's why I don't pay attention to the media (especially FOX). We are a fearful nation, which is the way those in control want us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtdude Posted July 25, 2005 Share Posted July 25, 2005 Keep in mind that the big determination factor of obesity is the BMI, which was just lowered recently, so thousands of people woke up fat even though they had normal bodies the day before. And people like me who eat right and do exercise are considered "obese" simply because we aren't a size 6. Jeez, maybe if people were actually allowed to accept themselves the way they are, and stop the damn yo-yo dieting, which doesn't do anyone any good, and actually start eating everything sensibly and exercising instead of looking for the next quick get-skinny pill or fad diet, we might have fewer truly obese people. Exact-a-mundo! You mean moderation? Right on, Amethyst. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antihero Posted July 25, 2005 Share Posted July 25, 2005 What pisses me off (hell, the whole commercial system that tries to bullshit its way into creating a need that doesn't exist pisses me off, but sticking to topic...) is the ads where the baby is heading towards the bin, or some spilt milk or some shit - er, not literally on the last one - and the mother is like "Nooo baby, it will kill you. I have to spray it with harsh anti-bacterial that kills 99.99% of "germs" so you will be safe". I always think, in 10 years the kid will walk outside and die of a common cold. My kids will play in mud, dammit. And at the beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted July 25, 2005 Share Posted July 25, 2005 Exact-a-mundo! You mean moderation? Right on, Amethyst. Yep, that's what I meant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-COG Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 I always think, in 10 years the kid will walk outside and die of a common cold. I knew a lady that would bundle her little girl up like Randy from "A Christmas Story" if it was 50 degrees out. Randy with Mom She had more colds than my sister's kids; missed more school too. Of course, her Mom let her stay home for the merest sniffle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ML13 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 Ya gotta let the kids run--and enjoy life. They have plenty of time as adults to become obsessed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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