Germ Mythology

We can all agree germs are scary. We hear about contaminated food from time to time, and this week it’s onions from certain parts of Mexico. Salmonella is a particularly nasty germ, a strain of bacteria that can make you very sick if you ingest it. That’s why we’re told to cook chicken thoroughly, and wash our hands with hot water. Since we eat onions raw, the CDC is recommending we throw them away unless we know where they came from. But if they’re cooked, it shouldn’t be a problem, depending on how hot you cook them.

The truth is there is always a chance of contamination so it behooves us to take precautions. A raw chicken or Turkey can be host to millions of bacteria. The US Government provides guidelines for safety when cooking or grilling meat. It doesn’t have to be a mystery. Once something is cooked your immune system will be happy, unless you drop that chicken wing on the ground.

The 5-Second Rule Myth

Quick! Pick up that wing before…before what? We’ve been told how there’s a kind of food safety grace period when things end up being a victim of gravity. The truth of the matter is harmful microorganisms don’t stand a chance on a relatively clean, dry tile or linoleum floor. Germs can’t survive well in that environment, especially if it’s exposed to direct sunlight (ultraviolet rays are pretty harmful to humans, too). In fact, there are more bacteria on your hand than on the floor. But if the floor is wet or really dirty, you’re better off throwing that wing in the bin.

But, yeah, as long as that chicken wing or cookie isn’t covered in dirt, or even if it is, you can probably brush it off and pop it in your mouth, feeling assured that you won’t be embracing a toilet later that night. The real danger comes from undercooked or improperly cooked meat. I was invited to a bar-b-cue years ago, but I was unable to attend. I later heard about – and heard from the bathroom – how everyone who went was violently ill. My wife told me only one person didn’t get food poisoning. That person also did not eat a hamburger. I also heard about how much trouble they were having lighting the grill, and I know the person in charge of that, and I am well aware of his cooking “style”. The meat was probably contaminated, and shouldn’t have been eaten anyway. A good, hot grill will usually prevent problems, even for burgers that are cooked medium-rare (but most restaurants refuse to cook them like that). For some reason rare steak presents less of a problem. I’m sure there is something out there that explains it, but I’m confident I don’t really need to know that.

Anti-Microbial

Since COVID has been around there has been a demand for hand-sanitizer. Some stores are still limiting how much each customer can purchase. The health authorities eventually landed on the conclusion that Sars-Cov-2 coronavirus was transmitted through the air and not by surface contact. Still, washing your hands is a very smart move to prevent a lot of illnesses, like the flu or a cold. Hand-sanitizing gel gives people a sense that they are safe, and it is pretty effective at killing bacteria, both the harmful stuff in the world, and the beneficial types that live on and in our bodies. Killing all the “germs” wouldn’t be wise, since there are some vital microorganisms in our digestive tract that we couldn’t survive without. Also, some of the bacteria living on us protects us from more harmful bacteria out there. So maybe we don’t need to apply that gel all the time. I don’t use it at all, unless I’m using a portable toilet. All bets are off there.

I’m amused when I see products like “anti-microbial” hand soap. Soap and water are already a well-established anti-microbial measure. And I no-touch soap dispensers. I mean, don’t you have to turn the water off after you’ve washed your hands? So the thing you really want is a no-touch faucet, which they make. A standard soap dispenser would have a lot of germs on it, sure. But then you wash your hands, so what’s the issue? Anyway, it’s a way for corporations to make money off our fears, so I have to admire their persistence, if only to criticize them for exploiting our emotional state.

Immunity

Some people are immune to certain infections. I, for one, am immune to strep throat. At least I have never had it, and I was checked after being exposed to someone who was infected, and my test was negative. What that means, the way I understand it in my lay-person-with-no-medical-training kind of way, is that I do not get infected, but the bacteria that cause strep throat, Streptococcus pyogenes, may reside in my body at any time. That’s the thing about microorganisms and infections. We can have no symptoms of infection while still having the bacteria or virus in our system. Many people have taken COVID tests, which many times return a positive result even though the person shows no symptoms. This should not be surprising to anyone paying attention, really. How often do we get tested for the flu even though we’re perfectly healthy? Never. We’re only going to get tested when we’re already sick. So if you randomly take a flu test, you very well could be positive for the virus. It’s very likely, depending on the sensitivity to the test. Everyday people are being exposed to any number of harmful germs out there. Our best defense is our body’s own immune system. But if your immunity is compromised due to illness or some regimen that produces that effect, the chances of getting sick increase a great deal. I don’t want to get into the politics of it (how and why did health issues ever get politicized?). But there is a combination of solid scientific data and sound logic that should guide us, if only we would listen.

Myth is a complicated word. We often think of myths as falsehoods, as with most everything on the internet. But there are many aspects of myth, such as the classical mythology, where tales of heroes and monsters were woven into a cultural tapestry that we can still see today. Myths serve as a vehicle for telling stories that might stand as an illustration of the unseen and the mysterious. But we understand microbes and their role in our health and the natural world. A good compost pile contains a few billion microorganisms, but don’t drop your cookie in there. It’s not good to eat, and it’s not good for the compost.

The Truth

But where can I find reliable information? For one, I think the US Government is still a pretty good authority. The US Department of Agriculture, The National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, Federal Trade Commission, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration, to name a few. Also it’s a good idea to seek out multiple sources to get a more comprehensive picture of any situation. And don’t get your information from Facebook or Twitter, at least to rely on social media for all your information. But they’re a good source for tall tales.