Getting Sick From No Germs - How Oversanitation Is Hurting Us In Lombard IL

As Lombard IL chiropractors we're told to constantly wash our hands growing up - wash before dinner, wash after we use the restroom, and wash after we pet the dog. Many other countless times our parents are urging us to be cleaner, asking us to shower more often and keep a clean and dust free room. As adults, some of us have taken those habits to the extreme, avoiding germs like the plague. Often called germaphobes, these individuals are constantly afraid that germs will make them sick, so they aim to live as sterile of a life as possible. (1)

But it's not just those afraid of germs who are suffering the consequences of being removed from the world's natural bacteria. Everywhere we look, hand sanitizer is sitting on counters and our homes are filled with strong cleansers that are designed to wipe away every trace of dirt. While certain germs are in fact harmful, are we taking cleanliness to the extreme in a way that's hurting us? Despite the fact that our bodies have developed to survive in today's current conditions, are we taking the appropriate measures to ensure our health?

We Are Made Of Germs

More specifically, our bodies are filled with good bacteria, and these cells actually far outnumber the fat and muscle cells inside of us. In fact, this good bacteria creates an entire organism in itself called the microbiome, which is responsible for the health of our immune system. (2) A large portion of these cells reside in our gut, so it's imperative that it stays balanced and healthy in order to promote health in the rest of our bodies.

If our microbiome is essentially out of whack, it can create a host of problems from pituitary issues to thyroid symptoms and more. Before we delve into more about germs, take a few moments to review the services we offer at BrightLife Clinic - Lombard to help restore health and balance to your body. As with any medical treatment, we recommend that any changes you make to your lifestyle should first be discussed with a functional medicine specialist.

So, what happens if we avoid germs like the plague and live in an oversantized environment? The results are actually quite shocking and are more detrimental to our health than many might realize.

The Effects Of Being Too Clean In Lombard IL

It would make sense that if we become a cleaner society that illness rates would decrease, but what the medical community has found is quite the opposite. Wiping out too many germs has had some of the following effects on our health:

Over 25 million people in the US alone deal with asthma and allergies, even though we have more ways of eliminating dirt, dust, and other triggers. (3)
Oversanitation can contribute to a plethora of digestive problems, including leaky gut, where our intestinal environment doesn't have enough good bacteria for it to function properly.
Taking antibiotics can have a dramatic effect on the health of our microbiome. It's been shown that one round of antibiotics can wipe out good bacteria for up to one year. (4)
There's even a term for what happens when we try to stay too clean: the hygiene hypothesis. Children who aren't exposed to bacteria early on have a more difficult time resisting disease later in life. (5)
Gut health is strongly linked to our resistance to germs, so if we don't have enough positive processes happening in our intestines, our bodies don't know how to handle invaders who attack. This can lead to a host of autoimmune diseases.