LogFAQs > #954845846

ChainLTTP posted...

This reminds me of the people who obsessively use antibacterial soap and then leave themselves with a compromised immune system that can't fight off everyday infections.

This reminds me of people who are quick to quote that "fact" without accounting for the very narrow range of people it (potentially) affects. An over-use of anti bacterial soap is hypothesized to have an adverse affect on the developing immune systems of children. It's a hypothesis that comes from observations that people in developing countries have lower incidence rates of things like allergies and asthma. So the logic is that people in developing countries are more likely to have exposure to pathogens. Of course the other way to view it is "the ones that survive the pathogens are more likely to have had a more sturdy immune systems" so is it the chicken or is it the egg?

But there is no hard science showing that antibacterial soap creates a negative immune response in adults.

But hey, get sick if it will make you feel "tougher".

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