Antibacterial Soap Causes Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Essay

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The next time you are in your kitchen, look at the area where you prepare food. Do you wonder how many disease-causing bacteria could be living there? There most certainly are some. But don't let that image drive you to throw down this magazine and run for the antibacterial cleanser under the sink. Right now it is pretty tough for those bacteria to make it into your body and begin wreaking havoc, because there just aren't enough of them right there in your kitchen. But TV commercials for antibacterial cleansers would have you believe otherwise. Those cheery soccer moms want you to be so afraid of the bacteria living in your kitchen that you make sure to buy their product-the one that "kills 99.9% of bacteria." Now, it's true…show more content…
As consumers, we may feel a sense of security by purchasing and using antibacterial products, but if we go overboard and attempt to establish a sterile, germ free environment in our homes, we will find ourselves breeding bacteria that are highly resistant to antibacterials, and, possibly, to antibiotics as well. Bacteria are microscopic, single celled entities that can be found on inanimate surfaces and on parts of the body that come in contact with the outside world, such as the skin, mucous membranes, and the lining of the intestinal tract. Some kinds of bacteria cause disease, but most bacteria are benign. In fact, the natural bacterial flora of the body is instrumental in protecting us from disease by competing with disease causing, or pathogenic bacteria. The competition limits the pathogens and often prevents them from multiplying aggressively and causing illness. However, antibiotics do not know the difference between "good" and "bad" bacteria. They kill indifferently, and only the bacteria with any resistance to the antibiotics have a chance of survival. Good or bad, the resistant bacteria are the ones to be worried about. Bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics owe their drug insensitivity to resistance genes. The genes may code for "pumps" that eject the drugs from cells, or they might activate
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