Body soap can harm you?

You may have been told by your parents to wash your hands and body with body soap. You may believe that cleanness prevents you from diseases. According to a scientist, however, it is the opposite.

Robynne Chutkan, the founder of the Digestive Center for Women in Chevy Chase, emphasizes the risk of washing out the bacteria from your body entirely. She warns that there are many good bacteria to keep our skin acne and eczema free. Anti-bacterial soap can eradicate them.

Independent: Expert warns using soap in shower may actually be bad for us in long term

It is well known that human body is living with the astronomical amount of bacteria. Antibiotic drugs can alter their composition. Pseudomembranous colitis is one of the diseases which occur in your intestine due to excessive use of antibiotics.

Also, I often see the chapped hands of patients with the obsessive compulsive disorder. They wash the hands again and again because of the fear of infection. Frequent exposure to flowing water gets rid of sebum that keeps your skin moist. As a result, dry hands become vulnerable to infection, ironically.

Ms. Chutkan’s hypothesis is not surprising. But how many time should you wash your body in a week is still unclear. It depends on the hygiene status of the place you live. In many regions in developing countries, lacking the concept of the cleanness can be fatal. On the other hand, Japanese love cleanness very much, whereas they are free from tropical diseases.

I myself seldom use body soap. Instead, I wash my body twice in a day. British people were surprised to me using a shower so frequently. Washing away the sweat is fun for me. But I am not sure if this way is appropriate in terms of hygiene.