Does anyone use Antibacterial stuff?

[DivaJen]

Re: Does anyone use Antibacterial stuff?

As a healthcare worker, I am very against antibacterial items. They promote the growth of antibiotic resistant bacteria.

They kill 99% of the bacteria... the 1% remaining of those are the strongest... So you're left with strong bacteria, reproducing strong bacteria. After a while... antibiotics and antibacterial products will be pretty much useless.

I've wondered about this before. Is the 99% the weakest (1% are stronger and therefore remain), or is it a numbers game, where you're not going to be able to hit every last bacterium on your hands, and thus the 99% claim (assuming you'll miss one of every 100 on your hands)? I've thought about this when I hear Listerine commercials.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Re: Does anyone use Antibacterial stuff?

I like the tidiness of sink-side liquid pump soaps but also do not like the anti-bacterial formulae. A couple years ago, Target had refill bottles of plain liquid soaps, so I stocked up on it. My mother fills her pumps with dish detergent, the kind without anti-bacterial ingredients. Personally I find that too harsh for my hands. By the way, even common soap does kill many germs, and does not merely help to wash them away.

The portable bottles of hand sanitizer do not much bother me, though they do not feel like a good alternative to soap and water washing. They usually just kill germs with isopropyl alcohol. I just don't care for the initially slimy, supposedly moisturizing film they leave behind. If there is something on my hands that I don't want to be there, I'd rather not seal it in under a film.

[neatdesign]

Re: Does anyone use Antibacterial stuff?

I keep a little bottle of anti-bacterial gel on my desk at work, which I use but not very often. I mostly like the way that it smells and yet it doesn't make my hands feel greasy (like scented lotions do). Back in the day when I was a globetrotter, I rarely went anywhere without it because I would often find myself in places (particularly South Africa and Costa Rica) where there was no soap provided in the restrooms.

To the OP: Do you think your daughter might have some germophobic tendencies? (Edited to add: Ha, I just reread that I realized how funny that must sound!) Or perhaps obsessive-compulsiveness? That might explain why she is so concerned about germs. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but if it gets out of hand then it could end up controlling her every move...

~ Jenney

[kv968]

Re: Does anyone use Antibacterial stuff?

I work in research and we use an anti-microbial soap. We handle samples and compounds that, to be honest, sometimes we don't really know what they are or their effects. Although we wear gloves and other proper protection, on a normal day I can wash my hands upwards of 20-30 times/day. I'm not a "germophobe" by any means, it's just protocol and becomes a necessary habit. I don't know how well the soap itself works but I figure with that much handwashing I should be going through an extra layer of epidermis a day

[cicy33]

Re: Does anyone use Antibacterial stuff?

To the OP: Do you think your daughter might have some germophobic tendencies? (Edited to add: Ha, I just reread that I realized how funny that must sound!) Or perhaps obsessive-compulsiveness? That might explain why she is so concerned about germs. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but if it gets out of hand then it could end up controlling her every move...

~ Jenney

I actually have no idea where she got that. She had no problem playing the mud as a child and climbing trees and everything tomboys do. She has started getting past it now. thank goodness. I have found the replies interesting though and am following them.

[Pollyanna]

Re: Does anyone use Antibacterial stuff?

RN here. No antibacterial soaps in my house; and we complained enough at work that they switched our dispensers back to plain liquid soap (the ab stuff was HARSH!).

That said, I do keep a bottle of the gel (thank you, drug push...errr reps) in the car for emergency hand cleaning.

I also use the foot in the door/paper towel routine to open public restroom doors. I'd rather have sneeze germs on my hands from a box of macaroni and cheese than e-coli from someone not washing their hands after wiping their tush, thank you.

[shengmei]

Re: Does anyone use Antibacterial stuff?

I am a geneticist and I used to have a lot of bacterial cultures. It is so easy to kill them. They die very easily. I figure if it is so hard to keep them alive in a lab with an incubator and nutrient solutions, then they must really die easily outside.

It is so easy to kill bacteria. I don't need antibacterial stuff.

[cicy33]

Re: Does anyone use Antibacterial stuff?

I believe I read somewhere that bacteria must have a live surface to exist. Is that true?

[disneysteve]

Re: Does anyone use Antibacterial stuff?

I believe I read somewhere that bacteria must have a live surface to exist. Is that true?

If that were true, there wouldn't be E.Coli outbreaks from contaminated food products. A head of lettuce or a container of ground beef isn't alive. The bacteria just needs the right temperature and source of nutrients to stay alive.

[creditcardfree]

Re: Does anyone use Antibacterial stuff?

Very rarely use them. Soap and water does the trick as well as paying attention to where you put your hands. Avoid railings and bathroom door handles. Shopping carts can be a tough one...but in the winter I sometimes just keep my gloves on while shopping.

[Hez]

Re: Does anyone use Antibacterial stuff?

I use it occassionally, but after reading this thread I think I'll reconsider it!

[fultron]

Re: Does anyone use Antibacterial stuff?

I keep a small bottle in my car. Comes in handy after adding windshield wiper fluid, checking the oil, etc.

[s.saver]

Re: Does anyone use Antibacterial stuff?

I work in food sevice and this is a big no no. One reason is because employees get lazy and think that after they wipe their tush they can just use this to kill the bacteria. This may be true but what if there was something on your hands? Gross!!! So you think the AB stuff works, but the junk is still there on your hands

[zakity]

Re: Does anyone use Antibacterial stuff?

I keep it around for when we are out and can't wash our hands. I also refill the sample sized bottles of shampoo and throw them in the cars. When we are at a public bathroom and they don't have soap, I just grab the bottles out of the car. I keep two in the cars because one can go in the mens with the boys and one can come with me into the womens.

On car trips, I also throw a roll of toilet paper in a baggie and throw it in the car. It has saved our butts (literally and figuratively) several times. It has been used as tissues and it has served it's original purpose when we were somewhere and they were out of it.

[rob62521]

Re: Does anyone use Antibacterial stuff?

I hate using public restrooms because of the fact I've seen many use the facilities and then NOT wash their hands.

I don't use the stuff you carry in your purse and really don't go out of my way to buy antibacterial soaps. If we have it, it's because of ease of use or it was on sale! I try to wash my hands a lot because of my allergies and I shower each afternoon when I come home because of the allergens.