Get those hands dirty!
Have you seen the Dettol ad for their new No-Touch Hand Wash System? It’s an automatic soap dispenser, that senses when you place your hand beneath it, and automatically dispenses a quantity of soap directly on your hand. Here’s what Dettol have to say about it:
Handwashing is one of the most important steps you and your children can take to help you stay away from harmful germs that can cause diseases and with the DETTOL No-Touch Hand Soap System, you and your family will never have to touch a germy soap pump again. It’s ideal for use in the kitchen or bathroom.
Seriously? I don’t know about you, but I can’t say I’ve ever worried about touching a germy soap pump before. After all, the very next thing I do after dispensing hand soap is…wash my hands!! Germ problem solved!
I shouldn’t really joke about this though, because I don’t actually think it’s that funny. Now, I’m not claiming to have any kind of medical background. In fact the last time I studied biology I was 16 years old, and that was quite a while ago! But over the years, I’ve continued to read about health and hygiene among other things. And since having Little Man, I’ve stumbled across quite a few articles about allergies and antibodies while researching various breastfeeding and formula topics. Even in reading more about childbirth, I learned a lot about the importance of bacteria. Did you know that the unborn baby’s intestine is sterile, but that during vaginal birth the baby comes into contact with both vaginal and fecal bacteria from the mother, and that this bacteria multiplies and grows to populate the newborn baby? It sounds disgusting, but it’s a key step in the birth process and helps to kick start the baby’s immune system. Likewise, breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact between a newborn and its mother can help ensure that the mother’s bacteria is passed to the newborn. (You can read more about this here if you’re interested: Study claims vaginal birth is better for babies)
But what happens when we grow afraid of germs? When we forget that we actually need bacteria – that not all bacteria is evil and out to get us! We start to make our environments more and more sterile. Which has two effects that I am aware of – the first is that it means our immune systems are exposed to fewer bacteria, so they don’t grow as they should and they become more susceptible to some illnesses. The second is that bacteria themselves change and adapt, and before we know it, we’re no longer talking about germs, but supergerms.
I know I’m not alone in worrying about this. Far from it in fact, as this article from the Centre for Disease Control shows: Antibacterial Household Products: Cause for Concern Here’s what they say in their introduction:
The recent entry of products containing antibacterial agents into healthy households has escalated from a few dozen products in the mid-1990s to more than 700 today. Antibacterial products were developed and have been successfully used to prevent transmission of disease-causing microorganisms among patients, particularly in hospitals. They are now being added to products used in healthy households, even though an added health benefit has not been demonstrated. Scientists are concerned that the antibacterial agents will select bacteria resistant to them and cross-resistant to antibiotics. Moreover, if they alter a person’s microflora, they may negatively affect the normal maturation of the T helper cell response of the immune system to commensal flora antigens; this change could lead to a greater chance of allergies in children. As with antibiotics, prudent use of these products is urged. Their designated purpose is to protect vulnerable patients.
In fact, on a recent trip to Vancouver, my parents saw advertising from the Canadian government warning people not to use antibacterial soap. I found this warning on the Health Canada site: It’s your health – Antibiotic resistance
Avoid the use of antibacterial soap and “bacteria-fighting” cleaning products. These products kill ‘good’ bacteria which fight bad germs. Cleaning with soap and water, or disinfecting surfaces with a solution of water and vinegar or household bleach is adequate.
And even if you leave all of the possible health implications aside, what kind of message are we giving our children if we insist that they shy away from touching the “germy soap pump” when washing their hands. If they can’t touch the germy soap pump, then I’m assuming they certainly can’t pick up big dirty handfuls of wet sand at the beach. No mud pies for these children! Which means that they will miss out on the joy of messy play, so important for their development. Don’t believe me? Check out this fantastic article on Moving Smart: Respecting the Mess
So the next time you find yourself in the soap aisle, please think twice before reaching for the antibacterials. Do you really need them in your home?
I’ll leave you with a few words from my wonderful grandmother. On one of my last visits to her, when she was still relatively well, we were chatting about her childhood and modern life and everything in between. And she said to me, “Would somebody please explain to me – what on earth was wrong with soap and water?!”
The more I read your blog the more I like it! My thoughts exactly on the ‘germy’ hand soap pump – did people die before it was invented because they didnt have one? I dont think so somehow. Well done, great article!
Thanks Isla! Glad to know I am not alone in feeling this way about the germy soap pump. Every time I see that ad, it just makes me cringe!
Really enjoyed this post Lisa! Advertisers are constantly playing on parents’ vulnerabilities in order to sell them more products. There’s plenty of money to be made in selling Dettol soap dispensers with no-touch activation along with their products. It’s awful though that most of the products, even the non-antibacterial ones are potentially harmful to us, our kids, our pets and our environment. I’ve been cutting down recently on the products I buy & am cleaning mostly now with water, baking powder, vinegar & lemon which all are proven to clean effectively & disinfect. My aim is to have nothing in my house that has a ‘toxic’ symbol on it as well as it being a much cheaper alternative. No company is going to make a fortune selling me baking soda though so the advertising barrage will continue, even though it’s absolutely not the best for children as you have pointed out in your very well written article.
Here’s an example of some Dettol mum-vertising I saw recently! http://www.dettol.ie/mission-for-health-new-mums-dettol-is-doing-more-for-mums.php Hope the link works.
Áine x
Believe it or not Áine, we’ve actually been trying to do the same. Slowly but surely, I am getting rid of the harsh bathroom and kitchen cleaners, and replacing them with bottles of lemon juice and vinegar, and a big bag of bicarbonate of soda! I’ve only been doing this for the past month or so, but so far, I’ve actually been pretty impressed with how effective they are as cleaners.
That’s brill! Ya it’s a slow process, I’m using up what I have and it seems to be lasting months!! I can’t get over the effectiveness too. I love that I’m not worried about the small fella licking the table/doors/bath/window etc!! …as he does…lol…but still know it’s clean. I find that since I’ve stopped using harsh cleaners in my home, when I do smell them I’m like ‘whoa!’
I’ve always felt that way about the smell of harsh cleaners. They always make my eyes sting, and my skin tingle – not something I enjoy.
The only one I haven’t really managed to replace is the Harpic Limescale Remover for the toilet. We live in a seriously hard water area, and I don’t know of anything else to remove the limescale effectively from the toilet.
Really enjoyed this post Lisa! Advertisers are constantly playing on parents’ vulnerabilities in order to sell them more products. There’s plenty of money to be made in selling Dettol soap dispensers with no-touch activation along with their products. It’s awful though that most of the products, even the non-antibacterial ones are potentially harmful to us, our kids, our pets and our environment. I’ve been cutting down recently on the products I buy & am cleaning mostly now with water, baking powder, vinegar & lemon which all are proven to clean effectively & disinfect. My aim is to have nothing in my house that has a ‘toxic’ symbol on it as well as it being a much cheaper alternative. No company is going to make a fortune selling me baking soda though so the advertising barrage will continue, even though it’s absolutely not the best for children as you have pointed out in your very well written article.
Here’s an example of some Dettol mum-vertising I saw recently! http://www.dettol.ie/mission-for-health-new-mums-dettol-is-doing-more-for-mums.php Hope the link works.
Áine x
Believe it or not Áine, we’ve actually been trying to do the same. Slowly but surely, I am getting rid of the harsh bathroom and kitchen cleaners, and replacing them with bottles of lemon juice and vinegar, and a big bag of bicarbonate of soda! I’ve only been doing this for the past month or so, but so far, I’ve actually been pretty impressed with how effective they are as cleaners.
That’s brill! Ya it’s a slow process, I’m using up what I have and it seems to be lasting months!! I can’t get over the effectiveness too. I love that I’m not worried about the small fella licking the table/doors/bath/window etc!! …as he does…lol…but still know it’s clean. I find that since I’ve stopped using harsh cleaners in my home, when I do smell them I’m like ‘whoa!’
I’ve always felt that way about the smell of harsh cleaners. They always make my eyes sting, and my skin tingle – not something I enjoy.
The only one I haven’t really managed to replace is the Harpic Limescale Remover for the toilet. We live in a seriously hard water area, and I don’t know of anything else to remove the limescale effectively from the toilet.
Really great article. The advertising campaigns of these products have made us believe we NEED them using alot of scaremongering and false info.
Thanks Jellybabies! Totally agree.