We’re too clean for our own good

🦠 Over disinfecting - harmful or harmless? 🤒 

Over-disinfecting refers to the excessive or improper use of disinfecting products, often creating a false sense of safety without providing significant health benefits. This practice, sometimes called "hygiene theater," involves disinfecting surfaces that do not require it 

Over disinfecting can be a problem when disinfecting things that don’t really need disinfecting. 
Over disinfecting can …. 

🦠contribute to disinfectant-resistance bacteria 
🦠 fumes from disinfectants are harsh on the lungs and can cause particularly more damage to those with allergies and asthma 
🦠 the chemicals in disinfectants are toxic and can cause irritation or long term damage over time from repeated use and exposure. 

Over disinfecting can also negatively impact the immune system by reducing exposure to necessary beneficial microbes. 
The human body hosts a diverse microbiome of communities of bacteria, fungi ect. That play a crucial role in training the immune system to be able to differentiate between harmful or harmless bacteria. 
 
(🐰🕳️A rabbit hole to go down here is the hygiene hypothesis) 

Does this mean don’t use disinfectant? No it just means that we need to be intentional about what we’re using to disinfect, and what we use that disinfectant on. 

Times and surfaces to use disinfectant on
👉🏻When the house is sick; door knobs, light switches, and other high touch surfaces 
👉🏻 toilets, surfaces that come in contact with raw chicken, and anything that comes in contact with boldly fluids. 

Surfaces that don’t need disinfectant 
👉🏻 our hands; soap and water is sufficient 
👉🏻 floors 
👉🏻 counters and other surfaces that haven’t come in contact with bodily fluids or raw chicken 
👉🏻 anything not outlined above 

Not every disinfectant is safe or worth the risk either. Common disinfectants contain things like …. 
👉🏻harsh surfactants 
👉🏻 preservatives that often carry contamination concerns (like phenoxyethanol being ethoxylated) 
👉🏻 synthetic fragrances 

So what can we use safely for disinfectant? 
🦠 peroxide 10-15min contact time is sufficient for disinfecting. 
🦠 190 proof alcohol 

Low tox disinfectant 
🦠 isopropyl alcohol 
Isopropyl alcohol is petroleum derived. This means there are risks of contamination concerns that can carry over. It is also not good to breath in. Isopropyl alcohol however also evaporates very quickly leaving behind no residue as long as it hasn’t been diluted or added to other cleaners. This makes it a lower tox option for in home disinfecting. 

Things that support a diverse microbiome for the immune system after you have been exposed to over disinfecting? 
🌳Nature; getting outside 
🐶 exposure to animals 
🍵 fermented foods, pro/prebiotics, broths, teas, ect. 
☀️ sunshine 
🦠 discontinuing over using disinfectants