Protect Yourself from Swine Flu with these Anti-Bacterial Products

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  Posted by MaryMary Fri May 1, 2009 11:18am PDT

  I just find purel and all those antibacterial gels sooooo drying. Guess I should try something less harsh.

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  Posted by MarlenaW Mon May 4, 2009 6:09am PDT

  As a microbiologist I feel I should point out that you don't need antibacterial soaps and they could do more harm than good by encouraging resistance to triclosan (the antibacterial agent in these products). Plain old soap and water is fine or hand gel if soap and water is not available.

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  Posted by seashel88 Mon May 4, 2009 7:10am PDT

  As a microbiologist I should point out that influenza is a virus so why would you use anti-bacterial products on them?

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  Posted by coolgal18 Mon May 4, 2009 9:21am PDT

  this is getting so out of hand.

  the swine flue is just a cover up for three reasons:

  Mexico has now legalized drugs(probably due to drug wars)

  Mexico is now under the command of the united states

  Mexico is billions in debt and their economy is about to break

  if people heard about this, they would flip out, that's why they created sucha big hype over this flu even though it already happened in 1970's and a few years ago.

  open up your eyes people.

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  Posted by 29_and holding Mon May 4, 2009 9:52am PDT

  I posted this on another blog. I will post it here as well.

  DO NOT USE ANTIBACTERIAL SOAP!!!!!

  Antibacterial soap gets rid of bacteria. It does a good job. The only problem is that you get rid of the good bacteria too. That is why MRSA is so common now. The bacteria that God gave you to live on your skin to keep you safe is being washed off and can not protect you.

  You need to have antibacterial soap in your kitchen only!! This is the only room in the house you should have it. Wash your hands with it after handling raw food. Otherwise use your regular soap or dish soap to wash your hands.

  And for Gods sake get the Purell out of your purse, and never use it again. Same thing it gets rid of the good bugs and makes you more susceptible to the bad ones.

  If you always wash your hands when you come in from outside, after using the restroom, or anytime they get dirty you will be ok.

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  Posted by Emily Mon May 4, 2009 6:19pm PDT

  The title of this article is so stupid I have to comment. I know it's already been mentioned, but "Protect Yourself from Swine Flu with these Anti-Bacterial Products???" Seriously? Swine Flu is caused by a VIRUS, not bacteria!

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  Posted by robert Wed May 6, 2009 2:32pm PDT

  Our most respected health institutions such as the CDC, Mayo Clinic and WHO universally recommend alcohol based hand sanitizer for avoiding influenza, including swine flu.

  "The CDC reports that the most important way to prevent the transmission

  of dangerous diseases, including swine flu, is to frequently wash your hands with soap or use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol." (San Jose Mercury News, "Dirty Hands Spread Dangerous Diseases like Swine Flu" 25 April 2009) http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12225096?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com

  Furthermore, as far as the "good germs" rumor goes, the Clinical Infectious Diseases Journal reports "Washing the hands with regular soap and water temporarily eliminates some of the body’s good germs while it gets rid of the bad germs. The same is true when using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. However, in both cases, the body quickly replenishes the good germs on the hands – often moving them in from just up the arms (where there are fewer harmful germs). So there is no harm in using regular soap or alcohol-based products. In fact, regular hand cleaning improves the proportion of “good germs” on the hands. There is no risk of antibacterial resistance when using regular soap or alcohol-based products. The alcohol in sanitizers evaporates quickly and completely, leaving no residue behind to which organisms could adapt. Some scientists are concerned the ingredients in antibacterial soap, though, may cause resistance." (Aiello et al: Consumer antibacterial soaps: effective or just risky? Clin Infect Dis, 2007).

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  Posted by robert Thu May 7, 2009 7:00pm PDT

  I would like to clarify a comment by marsw on May 4, 2009 about resistance to triclosan caused by anti-bacterial products. Four of the products do contain triclosan, which have been implicated in creating resistant strains of bacteria, but Frais uses 66% sugarecane alcohol to fight germs. Alcohol has been used for hundreds of years as a germ fighter. The CDC reports alcohol has never been linked to any germ resistance.

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