Have We Created A Society of Germophobes?
We are told to cough into our elbow as a means of avoiding the unintentional placing of germs into our hands. We load up on products designed to kill germs and we are grateful for restrooms with automatic sensors so we don’t have to touch handles. While this seems sensible there is one country that seems to have evidence to suggest we may be doing to much to avoid germs – or perhaps just not enough of what may be best.
In many hospitals physicians will work to monitor potential staph infections. In some countries the outbreak in hospitals can be higher than 50%. Not so in Norway.
Infection Free Zone?
Well, not exactly, but in Norway the incidence of the worst staff infections stands at about 1%. A recent report in Yahoo Health indicates that 19,000 Americans lose their lives each year to staph infections. They point out that this number is higher than those who die of AIDS.
We don’t hear much about these cases perhaps because the individual may have had other underlying health issues and that’s what most people will look at in relation to the cause of death.
How Does Norway Remain Infection Free?
Again, there are a small number of infections in Norway, but the remarkable difference in this European country has to do with eliminating the ability to prescribe antibiotics in most cases. The belief is that by making antibiotics a prescription of last resort the citizens of Norway have little chance of building resistance to the drugs.
How Do the People Cope?
You have to understand most antibiotics have not been available in Norway for more than 25 years. Surprisingly most people in Norway simply rely on an over the counter fever reducer to manage the worst of an infection and their body works to eliminate the problem on its own.
Penicillin is used in Norway, but wouldn’t likely touch the need of someone from a country where antibiotics are routinely used.
While some consider this approach archaic in light of the medical advances currently available the truth is there are doctors around the world looking positively at the way Norway has managed their approach to germs.
The Results
One hospital in London used the approach offered in Norway when MRSA cases rose to an intolerable level. Within the space of a few months MRSA cases began to drop. Last year that hospital only had one case of MRSA. Similar results are documented in hospitals in the US and Japan where antibiotics were severely limited to only those patients who absolutely needed them.
A pilot program in a Veteran’s Affairs hospital saw MRSA cases drop by 80% when the less is more approach to antibiotics was taken.
The Link to Fear
In most cases your body has enough resistance to ward off diseases caused by germs. When you remove all bacteria (germs) from your hands and environment you make it easier to catch germs in other locations because your body is stripped of some of the tools it can use to help. When antibiotics are used it can strip both good and bad bacteria from inside your body making it easier to catch a secondary infection.
What We Are Not Saying
We do not want you to resist the direction of your primary health care provider. You should work to restore health in a way that is reasonable. However, you may want to ask if the illness is something that you can get over on your own or if the doctor believes an antibiotic is essential to recovery.
Bottom Line
Germs are a lot like television shows. There are some that are good and some that aren’t. If you eliminate all of them you may have taken your vigilance too far. Obsessive personalities are prone to this approach, but by understanding the balance of germs to health care objectives a greater overall health picture can emerge.
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