Aristus: this is as risque as I get - Antiperspirant Alters the Microbial Ecosystem on Your Skin

[ashling]

https://news.ncsu.edu/2016/02/dunn-armpit-2016/

“Using antiperspirant and deodorant completely rearranges the microbial ecosystem of your skin – what’s living on us and in what amounts,” Horvath says. “And we have no idea what effect, if any, that has on our skin and on our health. Is it beneficial? Is it detrimental? We really don’t know at this point. Those are questions that we’re potentially interested in exploring.”

The new findings also highlight how human behavior can have a profound, if unintended, impact on the evolution of microbial organisms.

In another paper, published last month in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the researchers, in addition to collaborators at Duke and the University of Pennsylvania, examined the diversity and abundance of microbes found in the armpits of humans, compared to other primates: chimpanzees, gorillas, baboons and rhesus macaques. In that paper, the researchers found that armpit microbes have evolved over time in conjunction with the primates they live on. But the microbial ecosystems found in the armpits of humans are vastly different – and far less diverse – than those found in our primate relatives.

“One exciting finding was that the non-human primates were more covered in fecal and soil associated microbes, which we often view as dirty,” Horvath says. “Perhaps the diversity of fecal and soil microbes on non-human primate skin serves some benefit that we don’t yet understand or appreciate.

The new findings also highlight how human behavior can have a profound, if unintended, impact on the evolution of microbial organisms.

In another paper, published last month in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the researchers, in addition to collaborators at Duke and the University of Pennsylvania, examined the diversity and abundance of microbes found in the armpits of humans, compared to other primates: chimpanzees, gorillas, baboons and rhesus macaques. In that paper, the researchers found that armpit microbes have evolved over time in conjunction with the primates they live on. But the microbial ecosystems found in the armpits of humans are vastly different – and far less diverse – than those found in our primate relatives.

“One exciting finding was that the non-human primates were more covered in fecal and soil associated microbes, which we often view as dirty,” Horvath says. “Perhaps the diversity of fecal and soil microbes on non-human primate skin serves some benefit that we don’t yet understand or appreciate.

[jakeXT]

1. Antibacterial soap could create resistant bacteria

Strange but True: Antibacterial Products May Do More Harm Than Good

...

Soap works by loosening and lifting dirt, oil and microbes from surfaces so they can be easily rinsed away with water, whereas general cleaners such as alcohol inflict sweeping damage to cells by demolishing key structures, then evaporate. "They do their job and are quickly dissipated into the environment," explains microbiologist Stuart Levy of Tufts University School of Medicine.
Unlike these traditional cleaners, antibacterial products leave surface residues, creating conditions that may foster the development of resistant bacteria, Levy notes. For example, after spraying and wiping an antibacterial cleaner over a kitchen counter, active chemicals linger behind and continue to kill bacteria, but not necessarily all of them.
When a bacterial population is placed under a stressor—such as an antibacterial chemical—a small subpopulation armed with special defense mechanisms can develop. These lineages survive and reproduce as their weaker relatives perish. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is the governing maxim here, as antibacterial chemicals select for bacteria that endure their presence.
As bacteria develop a tolerance for these compounds there is potential for also developing a tolerance for certain antibiotics. This phenomenon, called cross-resistance, has already been demonstrated in several laboratory studies using triclosan, one of the most common chemicals found in antibacterial hand cleaners, dishwashing liquids and other wash products. "Triclosan has a specific inhibitory target in bacteria similar to some antibiotics," says epidemiologist Allison Aiello at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

...

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-antibacterial-products-may-do-more-harm-than-good/

[Aristus]

2. In clinic, we never use antibacterial soaps for precisely this reason.

We use regular soaps for hand-washing, and alcohol-based gel cleansers for hand cleaning between patients when the hands are not visibly soiled.

We caution our patients against using antimicrobial soaps at all; in line with advising against oral antibiotics for viral illnesses. It can be tough talking patients down from an insistance on antibiotics. People seem to think these medications are magic or something...

[noamnety]

3. Well, there's a medical study I'm not volunteering for.

If you're trying to recruit people to rub poop in their armpits in the pursuit of medical research, I'm not falling for it.

[vanlassie]

4. I saw a documentary called Microbirth. About the rise of

C-Sections diminishing diversity because newborns
are supposed to be exposed to the vaginal secretions during their trip thru the canal. Actually quite worrisome.

[oregonjen]

5. Read an article about a doctor that uses vaginal secretions from mom on c-section babies

To help strengthen their immune system.