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The average adult human consists of about ten trillion cells. In comparison, we have roughly 10 times that amount of bacterial cells lining the surfaces of our bodies. This means only 10 percent of our cells can really be called human.
For years, it has been known that Americans rely too much on antibacterial products. When penicillin was discovered, it was received as a godsend and, in truth, it was. We found a way to easily rid ourselves of many deadly diseases. However, we were too lax with our usage of it. We proceeded to spread it on all surfaces and give it to anyone complaining of a mild cough. Now many strains of bacteria are resistant to the powerful antibiotic.
One immunologist, Dr. Gerald Callahan of Colorado State University, is speaking out on the subject. “We need our bacteria,” Callahan pointed out in a recent interview with a popular science Web site, scienceagogo.com. Callahan authored the book “Infection: the Uninvited Universe.” In it, he explained that the high usage of antibiotics is not letting our immune systems develop properly.
Similar to the way our personalities develop through personal interactions, our immune systems develop through bacterial contact, Callahan explained. “We understand that part of becoming an adult is learning to interact with people and recognize both good and bad in those people. The same is true for bacteria and other infectious microorganisms.”
Our bodies’ surfaces – mainly our skin and gut – are coated with bacteria and need a steady distribution of “good” bacteria to inhibit growth of the truly harmful. Protecting children from all forms of exogenous bacteria – shielding them from all microscopic life, good and bad – seems to increase the incidence of asthma and allergies, according to Callahan. In addition to the impairment to our immune system caused by lack of bacterial dealings, without a coating of bacteria, our bodies are vulnerable to infection by the more dangerous organisms.
This leads to the inevitable conclusion that the ubiquity of anti-bacterial products in our local supermarkets may actually be harmful. This includes spraying that Lysol anti-bacterial product over everything we own. Unless one is performing surgery or dealing with potentially dangerous strains of microorganisms, regular soap will do just fine. The chemistry of soaps and detergents make them naturally anti-microbial by disrupting bacterial cell walls.
This doesn’t mean licking raw chicken is an exceptionally good idea. It doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be thoroughly washing our hands on a regular basis. It also doesn’t mean that taking antibiotics when we are truly sick is not in our best interest.
It is a sad state of affairs when young, healthy adults succumb to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA – otherwise known as a Staph infection – a microbe that most health workers unknowingly carry in their respiratory tract. This problem has deeper roots than just over-prescription of antibiotics; it also lies with individuals not following the regimen required to rid their systems of the tiny beasts. When taken improperly, such as not following through on scheduled doses, antibiotics create resistant strains of bacteria.
This means we ought to be more conservative with our ideas of mysophobia – the actual term for someone who is a “germophobe.” Just because that new product “kills 99.98 percent of germs on contact,” doesn’t mean it’s good for us.
The microscopic world is not one to be feared. It is a world to be respected. Humanity has developed in close proximity to microscopic life. Often, we are as dependent on bacteria as they are on us. We ought to keep in mind that we are a walking colony of millions of different kinds of microbes, the good and the bad.
Brett Sowerby is part of a vast microbial conspiracy.
Bangor Daily News