The sickening side of supersanitizing

Is overuse of anti-bacterials

doing more harm than good?

By SANDY LONG

sandylong@riverreporter.com

UPPER DELAWARE REGION — Were you aware that it’s National Hand Washing Awareness Week? Sounds simple, maybe even a little silly, but in the battle to defend ourselves against the bad bugs lurking seemingly on every surface, it’s a tried-and-true preventative worth practicing.

Even when it comes to nastier-than-normal bugs like Methicillan-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, (see Issue 46, The River Reporter), which have managed to out-adapt some of our strongest weapons as they develop resistance to all but the newest antibiotics, washing one’s hands with plain old soap and water is still one of the best ways to avoid an infection in the first place.

When the Sullivan County Public Health Services issued a press release last month with tips for avoiding a MRSA infection, topping the list was the call to keep hands clean by washing frequently with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. The press release describes MRSA as a bacterium found on the skin and nose of approximately 20 to 30 percent of healthy individuals and one of the most common causes for skin and soft-tissue infections in the United States.

It also points out that the past 50 years have revealed treatment of MRSA infections has become more difficult due to increasing antibiotic resistance.

Just when you thought you were alone

As recently reported by Jerry Adler and Jeneen Interlandi in the October 29 issue of Newsweek, the average human body bears a small army of other lifeforms throughout its existence. Various bacteria, fungi and protozoa are happy to lay claim to every one of us, from the time of our birth and even beyond death. In between, these microbes maintain ongoing interactions, many of them beneficial, with our digestive, immune and nervous systems.

Increasingly, the American view of germs has been, “A good germ is a dead germ,” as evidenced by the phenomenal rise in antibacterial products such as soaps, sprays, lotions and gels. Fabrics treated with antibacterial substances, portable subway straps, vinyl supermarket cart handle covers and disinfectant mists that douse doorknobs indicate our growing propensity for products meant to eliminate germs from our lives.

But while we have been waging this war, bacteria have been fighting back with a surprisingly successful strategy of their own: they’re getting stronger.

Meanwhile, the increasing ineffectiveness of many antibiotics is prompting a reevaluation of the idea that our personal troves of microbes might not be so bad after all. In fact, our microbial flora may play important roles in how well our bodies function, adapt to stress and ward off illness.

When viewed from this perspective, the wanton wiping out of all microbial offenders we encounter as we move through our days might be an invitation to further harms, contributing to the rise in allergies, asthma and autoimmune diseases, wherein the immune system attacks its host. In its simplest sense, it is as if our efforts to sterilize our environment have robbed our immune systems of the opportunity to do what they were intended for—ward off invasion.

New books get the

dirt on germs

Science writer Jessica Snyder Sachs explores such issues in her new book, “Good Germs, Bad Germs.” Development of a healthy immune system requires early exposure to a variety of harmless microbes. Sachs posits that while “modern sanitation” is a good thing, it reduces children’s exposure to benign immune-building microbes. The immune system may adapt by overreacting, resulting in allergies or asthma, which appear at double the rate for children who received antibiotics during their first year of life, according to Sachs. Likewise, the high occurrence of diseases like irritable bowel syndrome and lupus, where the immune system attacks the body, is another possible outcome of this chain of events.

In another new book, “The Dirt on Clean: An Unsanitized History,” profiled in the November issue of Orion magazine, author Katherine Ashenberg points out that scientists are revisiting the “hygiene hypothesis,” which arose in the late 1980s in response to an unexplained increase in asthma and other allergies throughout the late 20th century. Ashenburg notes, “…a group of researchers says the likely culprit is the scrupulous cleanliness of the developed world.” In response, some are calling for “a new understanding that reflects our often fruitful coexistence with germs.” Visit www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16305411 to hear an excerpt from Ashenberg’s book in a recent interview on National Public Radio.

For additional information on MRSA, see www.health.state.ny.us/diseases/communicable/staphylococcus_aureus/methicillin_resistant/ or contact the Sullivan County Public Health Services office at 845/292-0100.

Tips to avoid MRSA

The Sullivan County Public Health Services office provides the following steps everyone can take to prevent infection:

• Keep hands clean by washing thoroughly with soap and water or by using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

• Keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered with a bandage until healed.

• Avoid contact with other people’s wounds or bandages.

• Avoid sharing personal items such as towels or razors.

• Wash clothes, towels, sheets, uniforms, etc. and any other soiled items using hot water, laundry detergent and dry on the hottest cycle after each use. Pre-wash or rinse any item that has been contaminated with body fluids.

• Do not pick, scratch, or squeeze pimples or boils.

• Practice good personal hygiene including showering thoroughly each day as soon as possible after physical activity, direct contact sports, or working out. Make sure to use a clean, dry towel.