Are we being too clean these days? (excluding students and musicians of course).

Raumarik

Raumarik

Raumarik

Soldato
Joined
14 Jul 2003
Posts
14,944
It just seems we're overly bothered about germs, surely we've been living with these for thousands of years and we're still around. I thought this is what we had an immune system for. Perhaps I'm wrong, probably actually but surely if your immune system is exposed to germs a bit at a time it develops an immunity to them.

We just seem to be becoming a race of alergic, asthmatic wimps who won't pick up a bit of toast off the kitchen bunker without spraying it with Dettol.

What happened to "God kissed it, devil missed it".

Worked for me at primary school :p

We just seem OBSESSED with killing germs, more so than I can ever remember. Except where it actually matters, in hospitals! :confused:
 
Yep, though I've no idea what you're talking about wrt god kissed it, etc.

And as for the hospitals thing, there's hand cleansing gel on every door of a hospital including internal ones these days.
 
When i was a kid i used to get into all sorts of messes, mud, dust, cuts, bruises ect. I think it actually makes you stronger. I think most parents are too protective these days, wrapping them in cotton whool wont help them in later life.
 
My mate never use shampoo on his hair, he just rinses it when he showers. When we went to Newquay for the weekend he didn't shower once!
 
It does however still amaze me the amount of people who don't wash their hands after going to the loo.

Mostly you're right of course, a bit of exposure to common household bacteria is a good thing long term.
 
Raymond Lin said:
My mate never use shampoo on his hair, he just rinses it when he showers. When we went to Newquay for the weekend he didn't shower once!
Click to expand...
Am I correct in saying that you can stop washing your hair and eventually it cleans itself? Or is that a myth?
 
Last edited:
I knew a kid who grow up in the filthiest environment imaginable, but his immune system wasn't perfect.

I think it helps to have certain levels of exposure, but I also think that excercise and general positive thought help a lot towards immunity.

Hospitals should be significantly cleaner, its not that hard. Just manage staff properly and ensure they are paid appropriately.
 
Roduga said:
Am I corrent in saying that you can stop washing your hair and eventually it cleans itself? Or is that a myth?
Click to expand...

I think the natual oils does kinda self clean, his hair doesn't smell and has this natual shine.
 
We have several superbugs now due to the misuse of medications, several superbugs that are resistant to cleaning agents etc etc.

The cleaner you try and make somewhere, the nastier the leftovers are whe you miss a teeny bit or the agents become even slightly ineffective.

Hospitals and such are starting to reap the backlash from trying to be too clean.
 
Mm. I have just returned from Reading Festival and i didn't shower (Well, does washing with a sponge in a disabled toilet once count?) but it was wonderful to freshen up...i can't go without showering everyday really. I just feel better for it.
 
I think there is more to it than Simply feed them germs.

Whilst I agree a little household or garden dirt will not kill a child (or adult) some things are best removed. Dust mites for example are a problem caused by our comfortable lifestyle. Once upon a time before central heating and draft free double glazing. Dust mites were not a great problem. But they are now. Why because we are living in much less hostile environments. I would hazard a guess that we are breeding other germs much more successfully now too.

Were hospitals really much cleaner back in the day? Or were they simply more drafty? The local children's ward was built in the (or before the second world war) and I can tell you the nights are cold in the middle of summer.

So I guess I think there is a need to be clean, but over obsessive is probably not a great thing. Or alternatively get drafty windows.
 
Kami said:
We just seem to be becoming a race of alergic, asthmatic wimps who won't pick up a bit of toast off the kitchen bunker without spraying it with Dettol.
Click to expand...

Castor said:
When i was a kid i used to get into all sorts of messes, mud, dust, cuts, bruises ect. I think it actually makes you stronger. I think most parents are too protective these days, wrapping them in cotton whool wont help them in later life.
Click to expand...

AcidHell2 said:
yep. If the immune system has nothing to fight, then it will have no strength for when you do need it.
Click to expand...
I genuinely think we are becoming a weaker race and medical science is propping us up. What's going to happen in the future when all the dirt and germs catch up on us? Where are all these allergies and asthma coming from that weren't around when I was a kid?
 
I agree people are too concerned about germs. I'm a fairly clean (but messy if that makes sense) person. I don't like to miss having a shower in the morning. But some people are way too worried about food going bad and things like that. I'll quite happily eat some take-away that's been out all night, and I'll gladly eat it after a few days if it's been in the fridge. Generally I don't have a problem eating something that just fell on the floor, unless it fell on the carpet and it has fluff and things all over it but that's not so much to do with the germs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom