Hygiene - Can 'being overly clean' be BAD for you?

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

Societies dictate what is clean and acceptable within our culture.

For example:
* how much we should bathe
* wearing deoderant / or not? (some countries don't wear deoderant)
* hand washing (to prevent the spreading of disease)

However, each time we wash ourselves, are we 'washing away' our own protective immunity?

healthlink.mcw.edu...

I, for one, prefer a regular bath/shower on a daily basis, and yet, I can't help wondering if all the chemicals that I wash with, are really that good for me?

There are so many chemicals in bathing toiletries (some I can't even pronounce) it's like taking a walk through the 'periodic element chart'.

Then there's the 'Organic' route - Organic toiletries (shampoos/soap/face-wash). Hmmm...

Any thoughts?

Yes, actually if you wash to much and stay clean to much you are going to get sick from it (ill) because, our body needs some bacteria to run on and survive. It is a nessesity for our body and immune system. A daily bathe/shower is a part of a healthy lifestyle and it is important to wash hands with warm water and considering the faucet contaminated. Although, soaps and chemicals if overly used will cause a rash on the skin because, it is drying it out. Thank you for posting this topic.

/7A

Germs keep the immune system strong.

I heard a few years ago, a doctor said (don't laugh now) that picking your nose and eating was great for the immune system. He said don't stop your children form doing it - it's good for them.

However, after reading that, I just couldn't bring myself to modify my diet. And even if I did invent a bugger and bleu chees dressing, I'm sure I'd be eating alone.

Originally posted by godservant
Germs keep the immune system strong.

I heard a few years ago, a doctor said (don't laugh now) that picking your nose and eating was great for the immune system.

Now that I'm grossed out I think I'll go wash my hands again.

I'm totally fanatic about washing my hands, but if I miss a day in the shower it really doesn't bother me.

I'm a bit fussy about the house being clean, bed sheets being changed, fresh towels, washed floors, and stuff like that.
But I have a husband with a cleaning disorder, so all of that is done for me.

Originally posted by godservant
Germs keep the immune system strong.

I heard a few years ago, a doctor said (don't laugh now) that picking your nose and eating was great for the immune system. He said don't stop your children form doing it - it's good for them.

However, after reading that, I just couldn't bring myself to modify my diet. And even if I did invent a bugger and bleu chees dressing, I'm sure I'd be eating alone.

EWWWWWWW/!!! lololol (The next Canada's Food Guide group?!?!?)

The ol' saying: "We are what we eat?"

But...BUT, don't forget to wash your hands after that stint!

Sorry...lololol (laughing to myself while typing this)

I can't imagine anyone advocating the fact of 'digging for gold', and 'burrying it in our gullet'?

The nose contains cillia (tiny hairs that collect impurities), and NEED to be exhaled not inhaled.

THAT has got to be one of the GROSSEST forms of boosting the immune system I've ever heard.

LOLOLOL

I'm not really a biologist, but as I understand them, vaccines are used to "prime" the immune system.

If you don't get the normal childhood diseases when you're young, getting them in adulthood can be worse and even deadly.

Personally, I don't think the real issue here is normal hygiene. Bathing daily and washing your hands often have been shown to prevent illness.

What probably needs to change is exposure to ordinary activities of life that become less frequent as we become urbanized or suburbanized, as the case may be.

If we pushed the "hygiene hypothesis" too far, we'd be back in the middle ages within a generation.

using my own experience i was a child who played in the mud like war games crawled on the floor and played with my pet dogs and ive never been seriously ill just the odd cold or flu

but my cousin his mum was a clean freak they werent allowed pets because she saw them as unclean and they were not allowed to play in the garden or to get dirty she even wouldnt let him and his sister play to much because they would become breathless well the daughter is allergic to pretty much everything and can die if she touchs anything dairy and he's always ill.

i think there is a link here that being to clean and over conscious is silly its how we stop germs.

its a well know fact that the vaccine for small pox was found because a milk maid had cowpox and became ammune to the smallpox.
so the vaccine for smallpox is cowpox.
every one in england is taught his in gcse history

Duckster, you bring up a very important issue. The whole chemical thing in the water is serious. What people don't understand is that our skin is our most vital and vulnerable organ. Yep, boils and girls, the skin is an organ. All of those chemicals seeping through our skin cannot be good for us.

Now, most are in a habit of taking showers instead of baths. An interesting tidbit of information is that there has been increased impotence in men. Let me tell you something. Did you know that sitting in a tub of warm/hot water just 30 minutes a week increases sperm count in men?



[edit on 29-3-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

[edit on 29-3-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

Yeah I sure being too clean is bad for you.

I only have to remember the different people I went to school with at various ages, kids whose parents flipped at the slightest bit of dirt, and only ate a ruthlessly healthy diet IMO are the people who always have the sniffles / asthma / head colds etc. I was a mucky kid, always coming home wet and cold, not just character building, but also immune system building!

Used to work out side in all weathers, and some people get miserable, some people get on with it. Often wonder what the formers parents were like to their kids. p.s. not saying I exclusively 'get on with it' human after all!

Originally posted by kerrichin
but my cousin his mum was a clean freak they werent allowed pets because she saw them as unclean and they were not allowed to play in the garden or to get dirty she even wouldnt let him and his sister play to much because they would become breathless well the daughter is allergic to pretty much everything and can die if she touchs anything dairy and he's always ill.

i think there is a link here that being to clean and over conscious is silly its how we stop germs.

Too true.

Alot of people clean their homes to the point of being Hospital Aeseptic-like conditions.

Having nothing to 'exercise' the immune system produces ill results.

A good ol' romp on the kitchen floor with our pets is good for us. Let your young children play on the floors!

What doesn't kill us would most likely strengthen us.

Originally posted by SpeakerofTruth
Duckster, you bring up a very important issue. The whole chemical thing in the water is serious. What people don't understand is that our skin is our most vital and vulnerable organ. Yep, boils and girls, the skin is an organ. All of those chemicals seeping through our skin cannot be good for us.

Now, most are in a habit of taking showers instead of baths. An interesting tidbit of information is that there has been increased impotence in men. Let me tell you something. Did you know that sitting in a tub of warm/hot water just 30 minutes a week increases sperm count in men?


[edit on 29-3-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

[edit on 29-3-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

Thank you Speaker!

The biggest organ in the body is our SKIN...YES the skin is an organ! It contains many cells that are permeable (allows certain things to be absorbed and excreted)

It is our FRONT LINE when it comes to the war on germs.

I didn't know that 30 mins in warm/hot tub would INCREASE sperm count in men? I always thought that if there was TOO MUCH heat around a man's organs, that there would be a DECREASE in sperm count.

I learn something new everyday!

Thank you everyone, for your posts! Very much appreciated!

Originally posted by 7Ayreon
Yes, actually if you wash to much and stay clean to much you are going to get sick from it (ill) because, our body needs some bacteria to run on and survive. It is a nessesity for our body and immune system. A daily bathe/shower is a part of a healthy lifestyle and it is important to wash hands with warm water and considering the faucet contaminated. Although, soaps and chemicals if overly used will cause a rash on the skin because, it is drying it out. Thank you for posting this topic.

/7A

You're right 7Ayreon, about our body needing 'certain' bacteria.

Here's an off- beat thought:

Remember the movie 'War of the Worlds'?

Mankind was fighting the aliens, and the biggest (or rather the SMALLEST) thing that killed off the aliens was GERMS.

Aliens that were more technologically advanced than us were beaten by the common cold? I forget which particular germ it was in the movie.

NOW here's one germ that mankind has yet to find an immunity to?

Doctors everywhere still insist that the best way to counter attack cold germs is by proper hand washing.

Still I'd love to see a vaccine against the 'cold germ'!

Originally posted by SpeakerofTruth
Now, most are in a habit of taking showers instead of baths. An interesting tidbit of information is that there has been increased impotence in men. Let me tell you something. Did you know that sitting in a tub of warm/hot water just 30 minutes a week increases sperm count in men?
[edit on 29-3-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

[edit on 29-3-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

I don't know about that, I've always been taught the opposite is true, our testicles are away from the body in order to keep their temperature below body temperature.

Anyway, I'm going to keep on with my regular hygiene - we've all heard the horror stories about groups of some folks back in the 1960's and 1970's that showed up at their doctors' offices with diseases that hadn't been seen in society since the middle ages because of their aversion to standard hygiene practices.

Okay, I'm not going to answer this with my opinion as anything other than a nutrition student.

First, introduction of many common pathogens to the body actually help fortify the immune system by teaching the body how to develop certain antibodies and other such helpful immune mechanisms.

Second, the whole deodorant debate:
Many deodorants contain chemicals such as aluminum chlorhydrate, titanium dioxide and petroleum byproducts such as propylene glycol and others such as parabens (methylparaben and ethylparaben).
While widely used in many consumer products, there has been speculation among the healthcare academic community of the toxicity of these chemicals.
In fact, many items produced by nature-conscious companies are free of these chemicals. (Jason, Tom's of Maine, etc.)
I have even heard the debate that the aluminum chlorhydrate in deodorant has been linked to lymphoma and even breast cancer.
While there is heated debate over the legitimacy of these claims, I would just assume not use the items in question, just to err on the side of caution.

By: SpeakerofTruth
Now, most are in a habit of taking showers instead of baths. An interesting tidbit of information is that there has been increased impotence in men. Let me tell you something. Did you know that sitting in a tub of warm/hot water just 30 minutes a week increases sperm count in men?

Just wanted to note, that the above doesnt seem to be true. Hot baths are not good for increasing sperm count.

Men who avoid hot baths are more fertile than their scrubbed-up brothers, according to a new survey

news.sky.com...

Originally posted by AlphaHumana

Originally posted by SpeakerofTruth
Now, most are in a habit of taking showers instead of baths. An interesting tidbit of information is that there has been increased impotence in men. Let me tell you something. Did you know that sitting in a tub of warm/hot water just 30 minutes a week increases sperm count in men?
[edit on 29-3-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

[edit on 29-3-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

I don't know about that, I've always been taught the opposite is true, our testicles are away from the body in order to keep their temperature below body temperature.

Anyway, I'm going to keep on with my regular hygiene - we've all heard the horror stories about groups of some folks back in the 1960's and 1970's that showed up at their doctors' offices with diseases that hadn't been seen in society since the middle ages because of their aversion to standard hygiene practices.

That's what I thought as well.

Here's a site (scroll down to Testicular Heat):

www.fertilitytulsa.com...

Well, I do know that your body has certain oils in the skin that it depends on for self moisturizing.

To much washing, such as compulsive hand washing, can damage the skin since it removes the oils.

IN addition, to much bathing can do the same, such as is sometimes the case with swimmers. The chlorine on their bodies all the time causes them to need to moisturize significantly more than the average person.

You can also damage your hair if you wash it too much.

There is a medium between washing and over washing. Going over that balance causes damage to your skin.

As for the deodorant thing, the jury is still out.

I know that if I shower every day I can go without deodorant as long as I don't do anything physical. Some people can't. I'm not a big sweater, and not big on BO. Some people sweat a lot and have strong BO. So, that might be on a case by case basis.

For the record, I bathe and do apply deodorant every day.

Originally posted by wu kung
Okay, I'm not going to answer this with my opinion as anything other than a nutrition student.

First, introduction of many common pathogens to the body actually help fortify the immune system by teaching the body how to develop certain antibodies and other such helpful immune mechanisms.

Second, the whole deodorant debate:
Many deodorants contain chemicals such as aluminum chlorhydrate, titanium dioxide and petroleum byproducts such as propylene glycol and others such as parabens (methylparaben and ethylparaben).
While widely used in many consumer products, there has been speculation among the healthcare academic community of the toxicity of these chemicals.
In fact, many items produced by nature-conscious companies are free of these chemicals. (Jason, Tom's of Maine, etc.)
I have even heard the debate that the aluminum chlorhydrate in deodorant has been linked to lymphoma and even breast cancer.
While there is heated debate over the legitimacy of these claims, I would just assume not use the items in question, just to err on the side of caution.

In our quest to keeping our bodies clean and 'smelling great', we are wearing (possibly) dangerous chemicals that are absorbed into our system.

www.fertilitytulsa.com...

What's the saying? "The cure is worse than the illness?"

I actually make handmade soap and other personal care items.... the old fashioned way from scratch, so this is one of my areas of research and knowledge.

handwashing as a rule is a healthy thing to do, most dangerous pathogens we encounter will be on our hands, handwashing and bathing is good.

But harsh chemicals that strip your skin of its natural barriers and dry out the skin are not good, dry skin is more likely to crack or be cut or otherwise injured allowing pathogens to enter that way. Using plain ol soap or a mild cleanser removes germs and dirt mechanically, rather then chemically killing them.

Your best bet is to find personal care products with short easier to decipher ingredients, same goes with food. Tom's of mains a good company, or Zum, or do a google search and there are tons of people who make soap and other toiletries with the fewest possibly synthetic ingredients and the difference between these type of product and cheap mass produced products is amazing. But not all handmade soap is equal and it may take some time to find one that works for your skin type and needs.

But also remember that while natural is good, sometimes chemicals and synthetics are a necessity, like in lotion or other water based products, these type of products require synthetic or chemical based preservative systems or things like yeast mold and bacteria will run rampant and put you at high risk.

Antibacterial type products are also not a good idea, the dont kill every bug and the ones that remain can easily become resistant. They also kill of the good bacteria we depend on to live, this issue carries over to overuse of antibiotics as a medication as well

studies have shown that children born and raised in households with 2 or more pets have fewer allergies and are healthier overall, the immune systems early responses to the dogs and/or cats must helps bolster its overall effectiveness.

Bleach and alcohol are good santizers when needed they are highly effective when used properly and germs and buggies dont develop a resistance to them

HTH!

Good post Gluetrap!

I've been using 'organic' toiletries along with a few 'commercial brands' for a long time. I notice a difference between the 2 when it comes down to stripping any moisture from my skin/hair/etc.

The biggest difference is that, with organics, there is a deliberate lack of the chemical called SODIUM LAURYL SULPHATE.

Check it out:
www.health-report.co.uk...

I heard a rumor somewhere along the line (mabey online) that sodium lauryl sulphate is the same ingredient used in FLOOR CLEANERS?

Anyone hear anything about that?

It's a pretty harsh chemical to be washing ourselves with.