The evil germ.....forget about it.

Do yourself a favor.... whenever a news show does a story about anything relevant to germs and bacteria...turn the channel.  We have somehow raised an entire generation of germophobes.  I find it strange how some people spend a great deal of time and energy avoiding germs when if fact germs are everywhere.  You can't avoid them... and more importantly -you shouldn't avoid them.

Your immune system is like a muscle. If you don't use it - it gets weak. More and more studies show that people who live in sterile environments tend to get sicker and/or develop auto-immune disorders.  The emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria is also a clear sign that we are making the germs stronger. Think "survival of the fittest" - most disinfectants say that they kill 99% of germs. That means the 1% left to reproduce millions more germs are strong enough to withstand the disinfectant.  So you are killing off all the less harmful germs your body can fight off and are helping the more dangerous germs to proliferate. STOP USING ANTI-BACTERIAL SOAPS AND CLEANERS.  Infectious disease specialists say there is no point to buying these expensive chemical laden soaps and cleaners. The only case where disinfecting can be made is when handling raw meats, otherwise thoroughly washing with plain soap and water is enough to protect you from harmful germs. 

The reason why these news shows do these reports on "what you should know about ____" in regards to germs is that we are a fear driven society and fear sells.  The more you watch, the higher the ratings, the more money they make from ad revenue.  The story usually involves some lab tech swabbing a dozen surfaces and shining a black light.  While they report to you the various bacteria they found (e coli, strep, etc) what they don't mention is that all of these germs are DEAD. Germs don't live long if they are not in ideal conditions - usually a moist and warm environments. Dead germs are not harmful -- in fact they are what help build your immune system. Most vaccines are made of dead bacteria and viruses.

So the next time some TV show does a "report" that you "need to know"- and for good measure I'll include stories about animal attacks, child abductions, violent crime, and other scary stuff - turn it off.  I'm not a head in the sand and stay ignorant kind of person - it's just that the likelihood of these things happening are about the same a winning the lottery. So the amount of anxiety ridden people who behave like any and all of these things could happen at any moment is dumbfounding.

DON'T WORRY -- BE HAPPY