to think we need to knock the bacteria bothering on the head?

[OtraCosaMariposa]

So unless you've been living under a rock we all know that single use plastics are bad, too much air travel is bad and that we're killing the planet with "stuff".

Just as important is the fact that bacteria are becoming resistant and that we haven't the new antibiotics to fight them. I know a lot of this si down to misuse of antibiotics, people not finishing the course or keeping old medication and popping it when they feel off colour. But I also think a lot of it is down to the sheer range of "anti-bacterial" products on sale.

The latest advert which really gave me the rage was for an anti-bacterial carpet cleaner, think it was Vax, which droned on about did you know how much BACTERIA there is in your carpet accompanied by pictures of children playing on the floor. Just like the "ewww, bacteria on your washing!!" adverts.

Do we really need to nuke all bacteria out of existence? Or do we collectively not need to chill out a bit, stop the paranoia about germs/bacteria and go back to basic cleaning with soap and water??

Anti-bac is banned in this house.

where'smymojo Yes I agree, advertising companies must have enormous committees sitting down deciding how to attract consumers. with nobody to think about the state of the rivers.

Oh I do remember that dettol is now mentioning it's packaging being more friendly to the environment , but I'm very sceptical

This thread demonstrates conformation bias very well.

Both myself and my sister were constantly ill as children. We both had asthma, hers being lifethreatening on several occasions. Both have allergies and children with allergies. We both have autoimmune diseases, as do our children.

Guess what? We grew up in one of those 'cleaning is bad for you/it's unnatural to bath more than once a week/showers are weird and foreign' houses with lots of animals and dust and general filth We both experienced the first period of feeling better the moment we left home. We still have the conditions, but they are managed far better from having properly clean homes and our kids' symptoms were controlled through cleaning.

By the reckoning of this 'it's all the cleaning' blame being put onto parents (well, mothers - obviously mothers are to be blamed for all chronic conditions, rather than the genetics provided by fathers as well), we shouldn't have a single issue.

Just clean the bloody house. It's disgusting to make children live in dirt and dust and clutter and crap whilst claiming laziness is actually some half arsed attempt at doing them a favour.

I have often wondered how many carpet-bacteria related deaths there have been - it must be lots, for Vax to produce an ad telling us how dangerous our carpets are!!

Whenever I see this ad, I mutter under my breath about how many bacteria are on our skin and in our gut, and how much we need them - and how important it is to develop our own resistance to the harmful bacteria, rather than just nuking them with antibacterial cleaners and/or antibiotics.

There's a huge difference between a filthy never cleaned shithole and a clean but not immaculately sanitized home though

Mitzik no-one is saying don’t clean the house, but you don’t have to obsessively clean it every day with a bunch of harmful chemicals

Mitzik IME it's not dirt or lack of it that causes allergies (they might exacerbate them of course ) It's food, generally dairy. dh was bought up in a very , obsessively, clean house and has bad hay fever which ,strangely, disappears when he doesn't eat dairy food.

I have a similar allergy to dairy, and lived in a medium clean house.

I think filth to the extent that bacteria is clearly multiplying is not good. A bit of dust, dog hair, a few crumbs and no hand sanitizer is fine.

I concur with the posters that too much ‘cleaning’ and avoidance of everyday ‘dirt’ is a bad thing. I grew up in a house with a septic tank which relies on bacteria to break down the nasties. Therefore bleach etc was extremely sparingly used (or the septic tank failed to work properly and my poor dad had to get in there to sort it out!!).

Another note on bleach though. Opening the bottle dramatically reduces its half life - so you are far better buying a small bottle and using it up quickly. Otherwise, you could be using it and it is doing hardly any good at all. There’s a reason some companies ban the use of it commercially.

Mitzik, to add to the replies you've had. It's what we are cleaning with that's at fault, not the actual cleaning.

I grew up (60/70's) with, Vinegar, Bicarb/baking powder and hydrogen peroxide being used as well as Soda, Crystals.

Not all the chemicals that we use today, with scents added in. Bicarb is good for pet owners because it also kills fleas. Which is an issue because we live in warm houses all year round.

With the knowledge we have and the removal of carpets etc we should be getting healthier, but we aren't. Because we fall for advertising, in every way, food and lifestyle.

But antibiotic resistance is purely down to animal agriculture.

Ponoka Please tell me how you use the bicarb to kill fleas on animals, I'm feeling really guilty because we use On line to kill the fleas on our cats and it's full of nicotinoids. Which I didn't realise (though I had my doubts).

Um @Sicktobloodydeath you definitely have cleaning issues!

I'm with you, I avoid anti bac unless there's no hand washing facilities

I clean often and thoroughly! Just not with antibacterial cleaners or other harsh stuff. Hot water, soap, vacuum etc. Our house is clean and tidy but not nuked.

@Crikeyblimey that’s more in favour of bleach to me-it breaks down so quickly.

I are worms and dirt as a child, let the dog lick my hands and face and often would just pick up a sandwich after playing in the garden with dirty hands. I very rarely get I'll, and I've probably needed antibiotics 3 times in my life, all for nasty bouts of quincy.
I got my first D&V bug since a toddler, then found out i was pregnant.

My cousins, who my aunty wouldnt let out in the rain, have never had pets and is very antibacterial. Are poorly allnof the time. There is hardly a week when at least one of her 3 arent taking antibiotics. They wont ride out a sniffle or a bug, they'll go straight to the docs and demand antibiotics.

It's so so silly. Antibiotic resistance is really serious, it doesnt just affect the person who has the resistance, it can be passed on to children too so weete heading for a pandemic!

I have to admit I don't clean very often

Bit of muck won't harm you

I actually sort of think that Gaia is waiting for us to destroy any way we have of killing bacteria then unleashing a deadly bacteria on us and wiping out 80% of the population.

It’s not that I WANT that to happen as such, but it would be one way of ensuring the continuing existence of the human race.

The human body is largely composed of bacteria but you don't see the obsessive cleaners drinking bleach yet

You’ve put the idea into their heads! 😆

The one and only time my family was struck down with noro was the week I'd switched to anti-bac washing up liquid. Never again.

My brother's allergies were made worse by over use of cleaning products.

I'm not sure if this is true but, I was told that the bacteria that makes you Ill lives on your skin/body all the time. You only get ill from it if you have a reduction in your immune system, like being run down or stressed, or bacteria from one area (your butt) gets into another area (your mouth).

Also doesn't noro come from shell fish. I've only ever had it from shell fish.

I think people say noro for all d&v now.

Norovirus is a very contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea. Anyone can get infected and sick with norovirus. You can get norovirus from: Having direct contact with an infected person. Consuming contaminated food or water

It's a virus, you get it from contact ,not from using anti bac for a week.

Solonelywastheballard sounds like food poisoning.

In addition to all the antibacterial cleaning products, biocides and antibacterial agents are now being added to our bloody clothes and shoes as well!

Bought any new shoes for the kids? Check the labels/box/website - they must likely contain biocides.

Shirts - I bought some shirts from M&S. one lot treated with titanium dioxide, the other with silver zeolite. As well as being a concern for the wearer, the silver Nano particles in the clothing get washed out and released into the environment. They interfere with the water cleaning process at the sewage treatment works and get into rivers.

The information was only on the plastic packaging - not on the garment label.

Socks, pants and other stuff treated as well. It’s becoming difficult to find retailers that don’t use them!

There are beneficial bacteria, harmless bacteria and bad bacteria.

We should encourage the good bacteria e.g. look after our microbiome, ignore the harmless bacteria e.g. not nuke every surface unnecessarily, and take precautions against the bad bacteria where appropriate.

For me that means antibac spray on raw meat chopping boards (left on for five minutes) and bleach down the loo every now and again as raw meat and poo are the most obvious source of bad bacteria in the home.

Some will think that’s overkill, some think it’s not enough but it feels about right to me.

For me that means antibac spray on raw meat chopping boards

I saw something that said the only way to disinfect a wooden chopping board is to cover it in bleach and let it soak in and dry.

Winter vomiting virus 'found in most oysters'
Tuesday 29 November 2011

Tests have found that three-quarters of British-grown oysters contain norovirus, BBC News has reported. Norovirus, also known as “winter vomiting bug”, is thought to affect up to 1 million people each year in the UK.