# Ohh...Gross **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [October 15, 2001, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohh-gross/87563 "2001-10-15T20:50:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mikemike2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikemike2/32/305_2.png) [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2001, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohh-gross/87563/1 "2001-10-15T20:50:00Z")
Just read Cecil’s article [**Does flushing the toilet cause dirty water to be spewed around the bathroom?**](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990416.html) I have read most of Cecil’s old columns and don’t remember this one. How disgusting. My daughter learned about bacteria in food from school and cut her already meager diet (picky eater) almost in half. I would post this article on the fridge but she might become completely comatose. Anyways between “toilet water on your toothbrush” and “fecal aerosol” there must be a sig line in there somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohh-gross/87563/2 "2001-10-16T06:18:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mikemike2 \* > \*\*Anyways between “toilet water on your toothbrush” and “fecal aerosol” there must be a sig line in there somewhere. \*\* Or a name for a rock band… 🙂 Eric ---
**Author:** ![kanga99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f475e1/32.png) [@kanga99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanga99)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohh-gross/87563/3 "2001-10-16T08:57:40Z")
But surely we’ve all been dealing with this for years? Doses of household bacteria and ‘germs’ like this are something that the body gets used to on the whole. Could the increased usage of antibactrial washingup liquid, antibacterial sponges, bleach all over the kitchen, etc be causing a too sterile environment, in which children’s immune systems never develop enough to help them avoid problems like asthma? ---
**Author:** ![fozzie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@fozzie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fozzie)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohh-gross/87563/4 "2001-10-16T10:03:27Z")
I agree with you Kanga. I saw an ad the other day on TV about a toothbrush with specially coated bristles to repel such “fecal aerosol” from breeding bacteria on said bristles. Not to mention the introduction of bleach & disinfectants to many household cleaners (e.g. Lysol, Clorox), plus the recent indroduction and subsequent popularity of hand sanitizing gels/wipes. Would there be a threat of us not being exposed to enough germs to keep our immune system up to par, making us more succeptable to colds/flus/etc.? ---
**Author:** ![GKW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@GKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GKW)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohh-gross/87563/5 "2001-10-16T19:49:16Z")
I think one of the problems with all the antibacterial stuff that is being sold to people, is that a few of the fecal cooties will eventually mutate and become resistant to the antibacterial product - causing the shit to hit the fan big time 🙂 Our bodies’ immune systems are set up to deal with regular fecal cooties but may not handle the mutant strains so easily. Sooo, stop spraying antibiotic stuff around the household! If you think fecal cooties are nasty you should check-out the magnified pictures of the mites that live on everybody’s eyelashes ~shudder~ symbiotic relationships are gross. ---
**Author:** ![GKW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@GKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GKW)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohh-gross/87563/6 "2001-10-16T20:06:33Z")
Shoot, I forgot to add the link [http://www.geocities.com/thesciencefiles/eyelash/creatures.html](http://www.geocities.com/thesciencefiles/eyelash/creatures.html) ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2001, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohh-gross/87563/7 "2001-10-18T22:33:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kanga99 \* > \*\*But surely we’ve all been dealing with this for years? > > Doses of household bacteria and ‘germs’ like this are something that the body gets used to on the whole. Could the increased usage of antibactrial washingup liquid, antibacterial sponges, bleach all over the kitchen, etc be causing a too sterile environment, in which children’s immune systems never develop enough to help them avoid problems like asthma? \*\* Actually, the real danger comes from the fact that you’re artificially speeding up bacterial evolution. Say you clean (kill) a group of 10 million bacteria, and 50,000 survive it. You feel all warm and cuddly because you killed some Evil Mean Bacteria, but those 50,000 survived because they’re more anti-bacterial resistant than the 9,950,000 that died. So the next generation of bacteria that comes from them will be more antibiotic resistanct - the next 10 million you kill will yield 3 million survivors, all more antibacterially resistant. Suddenly places that actually NEED antibacterials (hospitals) find that there are many more bacteria that are resistant to antibacterials than there should be. And new bacterial infections are more resistant to antibiotics. So all these soccer moms obsessively cleaning things with fancy new anti-bacterials are going to create some new superbug. ---
**Author:** ![Ravi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Ravi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravi)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2001, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohh-gross/87563/8 "2001-10-20T19:31:04Z")
I wouldn’t worry about antibacterial soap and cleaners messing up childrens immune systems. As my doctor says with a smile on his face “children are nasty dirty little farts that get into anything and everything, they WILL be exposed to germs and bacteria” He should know… ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2001, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohh-gross/87563/9 "2001-10-20T21:00:00Z")
Aaw, they’re cute! [http://www.geocities.com/thesciencefiles/eyelash/creatures.html](http://www.geocities.com/thesciencefiles/eyelash/creatures.html) ---
**Author:** ![Petra\_en\_Paradiso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Petra\_en\_Paradiso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petra_en_Paradiso)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2001, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohh-gross/87563/10 "2001-10-22T09:39:49Z")
I try to put the toilet lid down before I flush the toilet to avoid the “fecal aerosol,” but I’m guessing it probably just focuses the aerosol in a narrow band through the air gaps under the lid and seat … Oh well, it makes me feel like I’m doing something, anyway … every little bit of magic helps. 🙂 Last year sometime, a young girl here in Hawaii got a real bad case of infection by necrotic bacteria. I was prepared to get hysterical about such bacteria until the article stated that these bacteria are very common and we are constantly exposed to them … just for some reason, her immune system couldn’t/didn’t fight them off. So, I guess a little daily dose of fecal aerosol a day, keeps the “e. coli”-osis away … ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2001, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohh-gross/87563/11 "2001-10-24T22:11:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kanga99 \* > \*\*But surely we’ve all been dealing with this for years? > > Doses of household bacteria and ‘germs’ like this are something that the body gets used to on the whole. Could the increased usage of antibactrial washingup liquid, antibacterial sponges, bleach all over the kitchen, etc be causing a too sterile environment, in which children’s immune systems never develop enough to help them avoid problems like asthma? \*\* I thought asthma is caused by a **too** active immune system. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohh-gross/87563/12 "2001-10-30T00:14:31Z")
That’s probably true, TheRyan, but webmd says that exposure to bacteria may actually prevent asthma. [What Causes Asthma in Children?](http://my.webmd.com/content/article/1680.50488) > [@](#): > > … Asthma in children is highly associated with allergies. … Of particular interest are studies reporting that _exposure to common allergens, such as dust mites, cats, and dogs in the first year of life may actually prevent later development of allergies and asthma._ One suggestive 2000 study reported on the effects of endotoxin, a byproduct of common bacteria from soil and animal and human feces that finds its way into household air and dust. In this study, infants who lived in homes with high levels of endotoxin generally did not develop allergies to dust mites, cats, dogs, cockroaches, mice, milk, egg, and soy, whereas children in homes with low endotoxin levels were significantly more likely to develop such allergic sensitivities. (italics mine)