[Parker]

With all the talk of superbugs in our hospitals and community facilities, I wonder what we will all do when the next pandemic hits. Traditionally, we encourage handwashing, covering mouths and noses with sneezes and coughing, avoiding contact with sick people, etc.. But now, many people also use hand-sanitizers, antibacterial soaps, and antibacterial wipes, etc. These products have the same effect as antibiotics, helping to make bacteria immune to killings agents. I've read that a certain percentage of children who have been raised using these products, and who don't get exposed to playing in dirt or with animals, where normal bacteria live, increasingly have impaired natural immunity to these organisms.

When the next pandemic hits, what will we do then? We are helping to build these superbugs. I have used antibacterial gel at times, such as airports, but don't use them at home at all, or with my grandchildren. What do you do in your lives? I'm curious what others think and practice in their lives.