5 Things We Do You Didn't Realize Are Actually Helping Bacteria

A lot of our daily habits are detrimental to our health and the health of the population by increasing bacterial resistance to antibiotics. The worst part? Some of these habits are encouraged by doctors and government workers.

1. Hand-washing

Via rit.edu

Ever heard that you should sing the alphabet to make sure you wash your hands long enough? It's true. Throwin' a little soap and water on your hands for a couple seconds doesn't quite do the job.

2. Anti-Bacterial Soap (It's bad!!)

pics.drugstore.com

But it says "Kills 99.9% of bacteria!" Well guess what -- that 0.1% of bacteria leftover are most often the worst kind of microbes. Plus, by killing all of the others, you've depleted their only competition keeping them at bay!! When choosing a soap, look for key words like "washes bacteria away." This is what soap is intended for -- to wash bacteria off your hands and into the drain.

3. Not Finishing Your Prescription Medication

Anand Soundarajan / Getty Images / Via addictiondoctor.org

If you have a bacterial infection and your doctor prescribes you antibiotics, you should take all of the pills no matter what. When people start to feel better and decide they don't need the medication anymore, they are contributing to bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Even if you feel better after having a bacterial infection, some bacteria could be leftover. These are the strongest bacteria since they have survived throughout the attack by antibiotics, and if you don't finish them off they will proliferate into massive communities of ultra-powerful and resistant bacteria -- which you can spread to other people!!

4. Taking Antibiotics When You Have A Viral Infection

Human Disease and Conditions / Via tofeelwell.ru

The "biotic" in antibiotics means "living things." Viruses by nature are not living. They require taking over the host cell machinery in order to multiply. Thus, antibiotics have zero effect on viral infections. Too often, however, doctors prescribe antibiotics for viral infections at the request of a suffering patient. In 5-7 days the patient feels better and concludes that the medicine healed them. In reality, he/she would have recovered in the same amount of time regardless of if he/she took any medication.

5. Using Antibiotics For Livestock Production

Via media2.apnonline.com.au

Antibiotics are commonly used in food production for the purpose of improving animal health, reducing incidence of foodborne pathogens, and growth enhancement. A study done by the Department of Animal Science at the University of Tennessee, however, showed that these habits contribute to the transfer of antibiotic resistance genes and selection for resistant bacteria.