What is this thing we have about germs? Easy to forget sometimes we are a bacteria factory ourselves, and supposed to be that way. We could never digest food if we didn’t have this symbiotic relationship with these little organisms. I remember being freaked out as a kid when I learned we have microscopic creatures living on our eyelashes. But when the body is in balance, everything works as it should.
But allergies and other autoimmune disorders are becoming more and more prevalent. Our immune systems aren’t given the childhood workout they once were through a frighteningly ever-growing list of vaccinations (a subject for another very long day) and the increasing use and overuse of germ killing chemicals. While cleanliness is obviously important – in surgical operating rooms it’s absolutely paramount for example – for day to day living, there’s increasing evidence a little dirt is good for us.
Besides concerns about turning bacteria antibiotic resistant, we seem to be trying to disinfect every little thing with chemicals, rather than good ol’ soap and water. And now that many experts are saying soap and water is actually more effective, and better for us and the planet than all those antibacterial soaps and lotions, we have companies trying another angle. Focusing in on how we don’t usually wash our hands long enough, thereby justifying use of their anti-bacterial products according to them.
There have been a number of scares in recent years stemming from lack of sanitation, but making bugs stronger by overuse of drugs and other chemicals seems counter-productive in the long run. Why not focus more on education of the importance of soap and water and a good 20 to 30 second hand scrub when needed? And why then, do we have otherwise green company Cascades Inc. coming out with a new paper towel that will kill germs? And do so because it contains the chemical benzalkonium chloride, also known as alkyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride and ADBAC. I’d never heard of this chemical before, but in looking into it, I found some pretty disturbing things.
Partial nutshell list, or maybe I should say peanut shell list:
– Highly toxic to fish
– Very highly toxic to aquatic invertebrates
– Moderately toxic to birds
– Slightly toxic to mammals
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– Disinfectant containing ADBAC identified as most probable cause of birth defect and fertility problems in caged mice.
– 2009 study showed even when used in less than lethal concentrations, ADBAC resulted in a 25,600% increase “of the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa to the ciprofloxacin antibiotic, even though the bacterial colonies had not been previously exposed to the antibiotic.”
– ADBAC has also been identified as an allergen itself, hardly what we need, seems more like the exact opposite in fact.
– Disturbingly, it’s still widely used in a ton of products, everything from eyewashes and nasal sprays, to hand and face washes, to mouthwashes, and now paper towels.
And as if all this weren’t bad enough, the company, I suppose thinking it a good thing, brags how these paper towels will be biodegradable. Like we want all that benzalkonium chloride ending up in our oceans?
The juxtaposition of news stories can be unintentionally very telling sometimes. Just when we’re hearing about these germ-killing paper towels, Mount Sinai School of Medicine recently reported in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology that the number of children with peanut allergies almost quadrupled from 1997 to 2008. While there are several theories as to why such an increase, the main one is the “hygiene hypothesis.”
This theory suggests that people are developing less immunity to allergens because they are being exposed to fewer germs. We’re medically trying to prevent infection even when there is no real danger, as well as over-treating existing infections with the overuse of medications. As a result, our immune systems can become compromised and unable to protect us when necessary, and at the same time, over-react to otherwise benign things like peanuts and other allergens in our modern world.
What’s that saying, use it or lose it? Well, it seems in our quest to protect ourselves, we may be doing more harm than good. If our immune system, our first and best line of defense, isn’t up to the task, then all the antibacterial agents and germ killing paper towels in the world won’t be able to save us.
