Germaphobia: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
There’s no question that there are harmful bacteria that can make you very sick or even kill you –the SARS and Swine Flu strains being the most recent threats that come to mind. But we can’t let our fears of these viruses blind us to the potential harm that comes from trying to kill all germs and bacteria (real or imagined). Or more to the point, what’s the hidden price we pay when we use a product or take a drug that’s designed to kill “bad” bacteria but it also kills “good” bacteria in the process?
Our intestines are loaded with “good” bacteria (intestinal flora) that help break food down so the body can make use of its nutrients. Much of the “good” bacteria in your digestive tract also protects you from poisons in food and other infections like yeast infections which thrive on excess sugar in your gut. When you have an infection (like a bladder or upper respiratory infection), the antibiotics your doctor prescribes kill both good and bad bacteria. While you may rid yourself of one problem, in killing the “good” bacteria, you may be getting another problem. Women often get a yeast infection as a direct result of taking antibiotics for other infections. Then they are given a different antibiotic to address that problem and the cycle perpetuates. Or, as is often the case, the condition clears up only to return months or even years later.
This phenomenon, when played out on a big scale, can have significant consequences, as was the case in 2007, when there was a huge outbreak in drug-resistant staph infections. While this has been an ongoing problem in hospitals, it was rare to see an outbreak of this magnitude in schools and even the locker rooms of professional sports teams. Thanks to our incessant use of antibiotics, this bacterial strain has become immune to what was previously used to kill it. The result? Each year in the United States, we lose almost 18,000 people to this type of infection. Ironically, it seems the only cure is to further the cycle by creating stronger (and theoretically better) antibiotics.
