The Anti-Bacterial Soap Controversy (And Are Germs Really That Bad?)

I was reminded of a hot topic again this week when Minnesota banned the ingredient Triclosan (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/20/minnesota-ban-triclosan-antibacterial-soap_n_5357733.html), an ingredient found in anti-bacterial soaps.

It brings me back to a day in the office when a sweet, curious 4 year old boy was talking about his awesome, glittery-blue gel, super hero cover, hand held container with a ring on it to put on your zipper.  I asked what it was and he exclaimed, “It keeps the germs away!”  I wonder how many families have ‘bought’ this blindly.  Because if that belief was indeed true, that little magic glittery-blue potion would be one that we all need in our households.

This last season has been touted as the most ‘sick’ season we’ve experienced.  If the glittery-blue gel worked, we wouldn’t have this issue, would we? If complete avoidance of ‘the germ’ worked we wouldn’t have this issue, would we?  In other words, if the pills, potions and lotions that we subscribe to worked, we wouldn’t be labeled on of the sickest countries in the nation, would we?

Going back to how God created us, why would we need something from the outside (pill, potion or lotion) to make us healthy?  Isn’t that the job of our amazing body?  Were we created to need these germ killers because our body is too weak to fight anything on its own?  I don’t believe so. Germs, much to contrary belief, build your child’s immune system. When our babes start to crawl, one of the primary ways to build the immune system is by grabbing toys and putting them into their mouth.  This is a natural process.  Allow it to take place so they naturally build their immune system.

My motto: Let them play in the mud, eat dirt, put their fingers in their mouth.  Heck, the worst that could happen would be they need a bath.

Thanks for reading.  Share any natural immune boosters in the comments section (besides washing our hands with soap and water!).

Dr. Tiffany