The strongest survive. The bacteria less susceptible to conventional antibacterial and antimicrobial elimination methods live on. They multiply. They grow in numbers. They replicate and repopulate and become even stronger over time. Less susceptible to antibacterial applications.
There is 100% a time and a place to sanitize and even sterilize environments. Doing this 100% of the time or even more than as truly needed will lead to serious repercussions.
Antibiotics can be lifesaving. They quite literally saved my life. They’re also regularly over prescribed and overused. For example, a large number of ear infections are viral and not bacterial. Without testing to confirm bacterial infection, the majority of doctors prescribe antibiotics which have no ability to treat viral infections. Some studies suggest a large percentage of bacterial ear infections heal on their own even. There is a true need for antibiotics in some of these infections and not all. But they’re often given as a blanket recommendation regardless. Antibiotics do not discriminate and will kill both problematic bacteria as well as beneficial bacteria. Only the drug resistant survive.
Sanitizing our surroundings may eliminate some troublesome bacteria and pathogens. There are times that is warranted. It will along with them kill beneficial bacteria that help keep us healthy and help keep bacterial populations in check. The microbiome keeps us in balance when it is healthy and balanced. The microbiome builds and strengthens and maintains our immunity, our digestion, and many bodily functions. The types and the health of the bacteria within and around us quite literally keeps us alive and well.
If our surroundings and systems become overpopulated with the most pervasive and resistant bacteria, we’re in trouble. Sir Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin in 1928, warned of antibiotic resistance and it’s consequences as early as 1945. CDC states, “more than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the U.S. each year, and more than 35,000 people die as a result.” It’s been a problem and it’s a growing reality and concern. Treat your bacteria well.