New And Used Guitar Sale!

Reducing infection and promoting good health with the use of latex gloves or nitrile gloves throughout medical practice is something we have come to depend on. From the beginning of a wellness check to the start of a complicated surgery, the sound of gloves snapping on has become a hallmark reassurance to both patients and practitioners. These settings have long been recognized as the appropriate place and time to be taking every precautionary step against the spread of bacteria and disease.

Our civilization and its science has long abandoned disease and germ theories that evolved from the early blaming of evil spirits to the later public health notions about vapors and bad drains. But now that we have an understanding of the life of microorganisms and can witness them multiplying under the microscope's lens, there is a temptation to swing too far in the other direction in the name of prevention.

It seems to be a basic gut response, this desire to completely stamp out colonizing, alien-looking bacteria. Our aversion to being invaded or playing host to body snatchers is something household chemical marketers have glommed onto. They appeal to some of our most primeval instincts, animating bacteria on TV ads and stocking grocery shelves with antibacterial cleansers of all sorts. Latex gloves and protective masks are now normal items to be found in grocery stores now, as well.

Now alarms are sounding thought out the scientific community that we have gone too far in our combat against bacteria. We have ended up compromising our immune systems in some cases, with our fixation on wiping out germs. The hygiene hypothesis is a line of thinking that has a growing following. It suggests that if we are not living with a proper balance of bacteria and microscopic life, we run the risk of autoimmune disorders, our immune systems becoming desperately out of whack. Some concerned parents have taken this message to heart and are deliberately encouraging their children to play in the dirt for the betterment of their health. (For a story on this, see the January 27, 2009 edition of www.nytimes.com.)

For some truly "live" entertainment and an opportunity to make even a very rational person's skin crawl, it is interesting to take a few short minutes with the video entitled "Our Skin is a Zoo" at www.science.tv. There is some risk that viewing this could drive a borderline case of OCD into hyper-drive but it is good to see what is considered within the range of normal on a clean and healthy person's body.

The video's unforgettable comment that "at any time there are as many bacteria on our skin as there are people on the earth", does give one pause. But , hopefully, that pause will lead to healthy acceptance and keep us focused on normal preventative hand washing, casting aside our antibacterial fixations.

Ms. Long, a glove industry analyst, resides near Charleston, SC where she is Director of Web Community Support for an online discount retailer of Disposable Vinyl Gloves. She is collating info to help those struggling with incontinence at Vinyl Gloves.

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