Katharine D. Gardner | writer + editor

“Wash your hands before you eat.”

Sound familiar?

Perhaps washing our hands all of the time may not be such a great idea, if there is any truth to the hygiene hypothesis.

Like most people in the U.S., and other developed countries, I’ve been taught that germs are bad. I even read a book to my niece recently called, Germs Make Me Sick! (I’m not kidding, you can find it on Amazon for $5.99).

Since I was old enough to clean (which was pretty young in my family), we spent weekends waging war on germs in our own little microcosm of the world (our house). I learned how to spray and scrub the bathroom with all sorts of disinfectants, washed my clothes with extra-strength detergent, and scrubbed every little bit of food particle off of my dishes with antibacterial dishwashing soap.

Then, after all of that cleaning, I had to clean myself. I always spent an extra long time in the shower after a hard day of cleaning, just to make sure that I killed any of the bad germs that might have leapt onto me from my sponges or mops.

If you grew up in the U.S., you can probably relate to this.

Little has changed, actually. My shower is still my safe haven against germs (once it’s been scrubbed with Comet, of course). Like the products that reside under the kitchen and bathroom sinks, I have an equally vast pharmacy of cleansing products in my shower for myself: different kinds of cleansers for my face, hair, and body. And often numerous types for each part of my body — most accumulated out of boredom, really, while waiting 30-minutes at Walgreens for a prescription.

So, the idea that being too clean can make you sick is fascinating – and scary.

It’s extremely ironic to think that simply growing up in a developing country – with the “highest” medical care, and cleanliness, — can actually cause us to be grow up to be very sick. This radical idea the hygiene hypothesis proposes suggests that our habits of cleanliness, sterilization, vaccination and antibiotics may cure us from the common cold but can leave us fighting severe allergies or a devastating disease for the rest of our life.

Perhaps just as disturbing as the idea that we are getting sick from our efforts to avoid illness, is the treatment. In order to cure our lack of exposure to parasites and other infectious agents, hygiene theorists are testing cures by purposefully injecting people with the larvae of a parasitic worm (or helminth). This treatment, referred to as Helminthic therapy,has proved promising in research studies, the risks of severe side effects in some cases are too to become commonplace just yet.

I could probably get used to the idea of not showering or cleaning as much (okay, I could definitely get used to not cleaning), but I’m not sure I would be able to knowingly ingest parasites, like hookworms, into my body.

But…ironically, if this hypothesis holds true, what many of us in the industrialized world have been taught to fear, would be our cure.

So maybe the next time you ride the subway touch all of the poles. Then go home and take out the trash, making sure to adequately touch the lid of the trashcan. Next, scrub your toilet with the kitchen sponge. Then pick up some food you find on the floor (check under the oven or the refrigerator) and eat it. At no point should you wash your hands.

If someone looks at you in disgust, say, “Hey, I’m just trying not to get sick.”

What do you do now in order to prevent yourself from getting sick?

Would you change some habits if we found out that the hygiene hypothesis was true?

What would be the hardest “cleanliness” habit to break?

Tags: allergic disease, autoimmune disease, hygiene theory, multiple sclerosis