Antibacterials: Helpful or Harmful?

There are many antibacterial products on the market today. They all claim to kill 99.9% of germs. The main ingredient in these products is triclosan, which is an organic compound that acts as a broad spectrum antibacterial/antifungal agent. This means it kills all types of bacteria and fungi. There is some question about whether it really works to disinfect our household messes, because there are other ingredients in these products that may interfere with triclosan. If it does work, it may be causing issues for us in the future. If it doesn't, we're all wasting our money for a little false peace of mind.

Bacteria are single celled organisms. They are simple creatures, but they can cause us serious problems. The type of bacteria that live off of us are called mesophiles. They strive in moderate temperatures; our body's temperature, 98.6 degrees F, is ideal for them. But not all bacteria is harmful to us. Only about 10% of bacteria are pathogens, which means they are able to cause disease. We have bacteria living off of us all the time, they're called our "normal flora". They are helpful to us because they're territorial, and they fight off invading bacteria that may be harmful to us. Some people are "carriers" of certain harmful bacteria, and they pass it on to others through unwashed hands. Others are the unfortunate ones who are succeptible to these bacteria and become ill.

With all of this bacteria around us, no wonder we're buying all kinds of antibacterial products. We'd rather kill those germs before they invade our healthy immune systems. But that's the problem: we need those germs. Killing them off would be harmful to us. There is no way to prevent illness completely; we're all going to be ill at one time or another. Our immune systems need the work to stay "sharp", so we can build immunity to stay healthy. When we use antibacterial products for the short term peace of mind, we are only hurting ourselves.