What a crazy scare monger title. I have a better chance of getting killed in an accident than contacting a flesh eating bacteria. i was in the hospital 123 days 2 yrs ago and would have had 100 times better chance of contacting mersa than a flesheating disease. what 25 million people get in the gulf a yr? how many get a flesh eating bacteria? 10? 20 ? even 40? what % is that .0000000000000000012. Enjoy life and don't sweat little things
I didn't mean to be a scare monger. I thought I was providing a service. I had always heard that the salt water in the Gulf is healing. But I didn't know that there is a certain bacteria in the Gulf that can cause big problems in warm weather if you have an open wound, immune disorders, are an alcoholic or diabetic, etc.
People post whenever someone is bitten by a shark in the Gulf and it makes national news. What's the probability of that? Don't call me names because I'm providing information.
I have another theory on hand sanitizers. Overuse of them is going to kill weaker germs which exist in large enough numbers to dominate, so that the resistant bacteria are not able to thrive. Our bodies can do a fair job of fighting off the weaker pathogens, and they are good hit squad so to speak for taking down the really bad guys. We may be better off in some cases to just let the bacteria fight it out. Our real enemies are the resistant bacteria, and we're killing off their enemies, when we really should let our immune systems handle some of this work. I don't think an ounce of prevention necessarily holds true in some of these cases. I think liberal use of hand sanitizers is just as bad as over prescribing antibiotics.
I actually do wonder about this, and I am on the lookout for research study results to be reported on this topic. I know that one is better off washing one's hands than using hand sanitizer and only use a hand sanitizer as a last resort.
That being said, two of my docs are at Emory Clinic. When you check in, the receptionist gives you a card asking you to notice whether or not everyone who enters your room uses hand sanitizer, whether or not they use it when they leave the room, and comments (like whether or not they use it after touching something non-sterile). Then when you check out, the receptionist wants you to fill out that card before you finish checking out. And there are sinks with soap in every examining room.
