apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

So silly, in my opinion. If you teach your kid to wash their hands properly products like these aren't necessary.

Very bad. Products like these promote resistance, and down the line we'll have more super germs which will prove harder to kill.

weird. agree with ellebee - kids who live in supersterile environments tend to have weaker immune systems!

if germs were such a bad problem, how come humankind is still around? i think it is a bad idea to be overly concerned (beyond simple, sensible cleanness, i mean). i think the main result of anti-germ hysteria is a lot of children with allergies.

I agree with ElleBee, we are just making life harder on ourselves when the germs turn into new strains.

Products like this should be band from sale. They do not protect, and in the long run they end up causing more damage to your health, by making bacterial strains more resistant to treatment. Bad Idea.

Anti-bacterial products create stronger, med-resistant super bugs. That is, if they work - many of these products are just marketing and don't really do anything.

It doesn't do a thing for viruses, which are really what people are afraid of catching in school.

Agree. Products like this usually aren't strong enough to kill all the germs, which means they just clear the field for the antibiotic-resistant mutants to reproduce. I'd like to know just how long this antimicrobial is supposed to last, anyway.

Once again, marketing and hysteria trump science. A pox on Microban! (pun intended.)

Add me to the list of folks who think that mild exposure to germs as a kid (yes, even if it gives you a cold) is FAR better than a) having fewer antibodies as an adult, and b) having the mild bugs evolve into superbugs.

Unless you're at or in a hospital, or caring for someone with a compromised immune system, there's no reason for the sterilization-mania that's gripped this country!

Side-bar rant: I'm also PO'd about the whole "tainted tomatoes"/salmonella thing. Do ya know how many people have gotten sick? About 1,000. Do ya know how many have actually *died*? About TWO. Somehow that part never gets mentioned on the news. Grrr.

Either way: false fear makes me mad!

Totally useless. Especially in children, exposure to harmless or mildly harmful microbes is essential for a developing immune system. That, and most pathogenic bacteria are incredibly resistant to products like this (part of the reason why they're so pathogenic). When a household product says it kills 99.9% of bacteria, keep in mind that it's probably the remaining 0.1% that needed killing in the first place.
People are becoming germophobes, and companies are ready, willing, and able to produce useless products that will provide false peace of mind for a couple extra bucks.

I agree wholeheartedly with ChristopherB: It's just a marketing ploy. Totally useless but it will appeal to all those super-anal, germ-phobic parents who want their kids to live in germ-free plastic bubbles. Personally, those freaks are doing their kids more harm than good and they all need a good talking too before they unwittingly create a whole host of super viruses. Sigh...

Lending my support to the dirt eaters! The anti-bacterial people act like they're protecting the "precious children" from the ravages of the bubonic plague. I had a couple of colds as a kid and somehow survived.

the sole purpose of this is to make $$$$ off of the neuroses of over-protective parents. let kids be kids for god's sake.

rockypondgirl, the CDC actually estimates that there are more than 36 unreported cases for every reported case. Not too many people go to the doctor for "stomach flu." That said, this bacteriaphobia is getting ridiculous.

Once upon a time humans had no sewage systems; lived quite literally next to cows, pigs, and chickens; never bathed, let alone washed their hands; and had limited ability to preserve food, especially foods that are the most prone to developing bacteria: dairy and meat. We are so much healthier today than at any other point in human history, and it's not thanks to Lysol and Microban. It's thanks to basic hygiene and public health. Stop the insanity!

Well, first of all, it seems silly and unnecessary to spend the extra money on this. But while there are studies that show that antibacterial soaps can cause more bacterial resistance, there isn't any evidence that the substance in microban's products has produced resistance. Not to say it couldn't, but if I was a parent, I'd be more concerned about the antibacterial soap in my kid's classroom than the antimicrobial scissors.

will it kill ebola? smallpox? the black plague?

if not, don't need it.

This is one of those products that, I suspect, in 5 years they will find out it gives you cancer

Now's it safe to run with scissors! Your puncture wounds won't get infected! :)

NO DICE.

I also agree that this is a bad idea as it will just encourage the breeding of more resistant and dangerous bacteria. People need to avoid these products so they stop being made. It's just absurd to believe everything has to be sanitized for our protection.

If this sort of thing keeps up, we may all have to live in plastic bubbles in the future. :-p

Thanks to exposure to a wide variety of germs throughout my life, I have a quite a strong immune system. I swear it is like companies are trying to thin out future generations with all of these anti-bacterial and anti-germ products.

anti-bacterial products are uselss, but may also be dangerous. they are usually made with nano-silver, tiny particles of silver that work their way into the cell of the bacteria and disrupt its processes. these particles are also being released into you and into the environment at the same time, and there are no long-term studies regarding the effects.

Dumb. We rarely got sick as kids and didn't use anti-bacterial anything.