WebMD Health News May 22, 2000 (Los Angeles) -- All that hand-washing mom pressed us to do before eating may not have been for naught. But while the average home is crawling with microscopic bacteria that could cause infection, you may want to steer clear of washing with those antibacterial soaps and detergents, according to a study presented at a microbiology meeting here. The research shows that these products may be contributing to the explosion of bacteria resistant to antibiotics.

Scientists led by Herbert P. Schweizer, PhD, grew a common strain of bacteria in a culture containing high levels of triclosan, an antiseptic often found in soaps, lotions, toothpaste, and even some fabrics and plastics. Exposure to this antiseptic caused the bacteria to gradually become resistant to triclosan and to several common antibiotics, in some cases increasing their resistance as much as 500-fold. Schweizer is an associate professor of microbiology at Colorado State University in Fort Collins.

Schweizer's group also found that in some germs, resistance to triclosan translates into resistance to the drug used to treat tuberculosis, a phenomenon known as cross-resistance. This adds to the worry that resistance to common household cleansers may also make certain bacteria resistant to important antibiotics.

"This study is very important," says Thomas J. Pallasch, DDS, MS. "It raises a number of good questions." According to Pallasch, who was not involved in these studies, the first report of antibiotic resistance occurred in 1886. In 1946, Consumer Reports magazine warned its readers ofpenicil-resistant organisms. Today, he says, 17 million people die each year around the world from infectious diseases. "Unless we all get together on this and start to work on it -- it can't be done by one hospital." Pallasch is professor of dentistry at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Since liquids with triclosan take a few minutes to evaporate, bacteria on a kitchen countertop, for example, may be exposed to low levels of the compound that kill the most sensitive organisms but allow the others to mutate and develop resistance -- a "worst case scenario", Schweizer tells WebMD. "It's very difficult to see what's real: it may be that in excess of 90% of bacteria are sensitive to triclosan, while the rest are not affected," he explains. By killing those 90% and allowing the remaining 10% to thrive, "we may be imbalancing the population. We don't want to give those bacteria an unnecessary advantage."

A few studies have shown that products containing triclosan create a "marginal improvement" in rates of bacterial infection, but "proper hand washing makes any soap effective," Schweizer says. "In my opinion, [if there is] any potential impact on encouraging the growth of resistant bacteria -- it's not worth it." In addition, he says he believes that people may become a little more lax in their hygiene if they think their soaps and cleansers contain an antiseptic. "Use common sense," he warns. "Cooking meat properly and washing cutting boards appropriately will take care of most [problem organisms]."

Pallasch adds that consumers should "try and resist the use of antibiotics [in general] for situations where they're not indicated. The public has to understand that there are some very good uses of antibiotics and very poor uses." For example, antibiotics will do nothing against a viral infection such as the common cold, but they can be very effective against bacterial infections such as certain forms of pneumonia.

Adding to worries about drug-resistant bacteria are findings by Patricia Rusin, PhD, and her colleagues at the University of Arizona in Tucson, that activities such as doing laundry, cleaning house, or even just picking up a telephone can transmit germs to the hands, even if you disinfect your hands before doing the chore with antiseptic soap. Hard surfaces, such as a telephone or faucet, were the most efficient transmitters of bacteria, but even wringing out a sponge left over 100,000 to one million bacteria on the hands.

Among activities, meal preparation contaminated hands the most. Exiting a public restroom, surprisingly, was associated with the lowest level of bacterial contamination.

"These results suggest that everyday activities can result in considerable contamination of the hands, especially meal preparation and household cleaning," the investigators write. But don't put away that broom and blender just yet. The body's natural defenses usually keep these bugs at bay.

Source: http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20000522/fighting-germs-in-home-may-make-problem-worse

The gospel is a wonderful simplifier of life's problems. Its instruction, heeded, would make plain many a perplexity and save us from many an error. It teaches us to estimate things at their true value and to give the most effort to the things of greatest worth--the things that will endure. This lesson is needed by those upon whom rests the responsibility of selecting a home. They should not allow themselves to be diverted from the highest aim. Let them remember that the home on earth is to be a symbol of and a preparation for the home in heaven. Life is a training school, from which parents and children are to be graduated to the higher school in the mansions of God. As the location for a home is sought, let this purpose direct the choice. Be not controlled by the desire for wealth, the dictates of fashion, or the customs of society. Consider what will tend most to simplicity, purity, health, and real worth. 
    
The world over, cities are becoming hotbeds of vice. On every hand are the sights and sounds of evil. Everywhere are enticements to sensuality and dissipation. The tide of corruption and crime is continually swelling. Every day brings the record of violence--robberies, murders, suicides, and crimes unnamable.
    
Life in the cities is false and artificial. The intense passion for money getting, the whirl of excitement and pleasure seeking, the thirst for display, the luxury and extravagance, all are forces that, with the great masses of mankind, are turning the mind from life's true purpose. They are opening the door to a thousand evils. Upon the youth they have almost irresistible power. 
    
One of the most subtle and dangerous temptations that assail the children and youth in the cities is the love of pleasure. Holidays are numerous; games and horse racing draw thousands, and the whirl of excitement and pleasure attracts them away from the sober duties of life. Money that should have been saved for better uses is frittered away for amusements.  
    
Through the working of trusts, and the results of labor unions and strikes, the conditions of life in the city are constantly becoming more and more difficult. Serious troubles are before us; and for many families removal from the cities will become a necessity.

The physical surroundings in the cities are often a peril to health. The constant liability to contact with disease, the prevalence of foul air, impure water, impure food, the crowded, dark, unhealthful dwellings, are some of the many evils to be met.  
    
It was not God's purpose that people should be crowded into cities, huddled together in terraces and tenements. In the beginning He placed our first parents amidst the beautiful sights and sounds He desires us to rejoice in today. The more nearly we come into harmony with God's original plan, the more favorable will be our position to secure health of body, and mind, and soul.
    
An expensive dwelling, elaborate furnishings, display, luxury, and ease, do not furnish the conditions essential to a happy, useful life. Jesus came to this earth to accomplish the greatest work ever accomplished among men. He came as God's ambassador, to show us how to live so as to secure life's best results. What were the conditions chosen by the infinite Father for His Son? A secluded home in the Galilean hills; a household sustained by honest, self-respecting labor; a life of simplicity; daily conflict with difficulty and hardship; self-sacrifice, economy, and patient, gladsome service; the hour of study at His mother's side, with the open scroll of Scripture; the quiet of dawn or twilight in the green valley; the holy ministries of nature; the study of creation and providence; and the soul's communion with God--these were the conditions and opportunities of the early life of Jesus.   
    
So with the great majority of the best and noblest men of all ages. Read the history of Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph, of Moses, David, and Elisha. Study the lives of men of later times who have most worthily filled positions of trust and responsibility, the men whose influence has been most effective for the world's uplifting. 
      
How many of these were reared in country homes. They knew little of luxury. They did not spend their youth in amusement. Many were forced to struggle with poverty and hardship. They early learned to work, and their active life in the open air gave vigor and elasticity to all their faculties. Forced to depend upon their own resources, they learned to combat difficulties and to surmount obstacles, and they gained courage and perseverance. They learned the lessons of self-reliance and self-control. Sheltered in a great degree from evil associations, they were satisfied with natural pleasures and wholesome companionships. They were simple in their tastes and temperate in their habits. They were governed by principle, and they grew up pure and strong and true. When called to their lifework, they brought to it physical and mental power, buoyancy of spirit, ability to plan and execute, and steadfastness in resisting evil, that made them a positive power for good in the world. 
    
Better than any other inheritance of wealth you can give to your children will be the gift of a healthy body, a sound mind, and a noble character. Those who understand what constitutes life's true success will be wise betimes. They will keep in view life's best things in their choice of a home.  
    
Instead of dwelling where only the works of men can be seen, where the sights and sounds frequently suggest thoughts of evil, where turmoil and confusion bring weariness and disquietude, go where you can look upon the works of God. Find rest of spirit in the beauty and quietude and peace of nature. Let the eye rest on the green fields, the groves, and the hills. Look up to the blue sky, unobscured by the city's dust and smoke, and breathe the invigorating air of heaven. Go where, apart from the distractions and dissipations of city life, you can give your children your companionship, where you can teach them to learn of God through His works, and train them for lives of integrity and usefulness.  
 
Simplicity in Furnishing
    
Our artificial habits deprive us of many blessings and much enjoyment, and unfit us for living the most useful lives. Elaborate and expensive furnishings are a waste not only of money, but of that which is a thousandfold more precious. They bring into the home a heavy burden of care and labor and perplexity.   
    
What are the conditions in many homes, even where resources are limited and the work of the household rests chiefly on the mother? The best rooms are furnished in a style beyond the means of the occupants and unsuited to their convenience and enjoyment. There are expensive carpets, elaborately carved and daintily upholstered furniture, and delicate drapery. Tables, mantels, and every other available space are crowded with ornaments, and the walls are covered with pictures, until the sight becomes wearying. And what an amount of work is required to keep all these in order and free from dust! This work, and the other artificial habits of the family in its conformity to fashion, demand of the housewife unending toil.

In many a home the wife and mother has no time to read, to keep herself well informed, no time to be a companion to her husband, no time to keep in touch with the developing minds of her children. There is no time or place for the precious Saviour to be a close, dear companion. Little by little she sinks into a mere household drudge, her strength and time and interest absorbed in the things that perish with the using. Too late she awakes to find herself almost a stranger in her own home. The precious opportunities once hers to influence her dear ones for the higher life, unimproved, have passed away forever.
      
Let the homemakers resolve to live on a wiser plan. Let it be your first aim to make a pleasant home. Be sure to provide the facilities that will lighten labor and promote health and comfort. Plan for the entertainment of the guests whom Christ has bidden us welcome, and of whom He says, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me." Matthew 25:40. 
      
Furnish your home with things plain and simple, things that will bear handling, that can be easily kept clean, and that can be replaced without great expense. By exercising taste, you can make a very simple home attractive and inviting, if love and contentment are there. 
 
Beautiful Surroundings
    
God loves the beautiful. He has clothed the earth and the heavens with beauty, and with a Father's joy He watches the delight of His children in the things that He has made. He desires us to surround our homes with the beauty of natural things. 
    
Nearly all dwellers in the country, however poor, could have about their homes a bit of grassy lawn, a few shade trees, flowering shrubbery, or fragrant blossoms. And far more than any artificial adorning will they minister to the happiness of the household. They will bring into the home life a softening, refining influence, strengthening the love of nature, and drawing the members of the household nearer to one another and nearer to God. 

Source: Ministry of Healing pp. 363-370

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http://www.3angelstube.com/video/1127/Our-Resting-Place

"Our Resting Place" will take you from the treadmill pace that the Hohnbergers lived, to the simple life they found. You will enter into the principles behind a lifestyle that can revitalize your marriage, reconnect your family, and empower your walk with God. Come and tour their home, garage, and greenhouse;and discover that less is more, and simpler is better. See for yourself that there is a better way of life awaiting you. Witness the miracle of the Lord in sparing their "Resting Place" from the ravages of the forest fire that threatened to destroy it. Attend their first-annual open house and hear the testimonies of those who are catching the vision of a walk with God that truly transforms one's heart and daily life. Meet thir two sones and their wives. Hear them answer question after question through a moderator determined to find out whether the principles and lifestyle they lived will produce fruit worthy of your personal pursuit. Discover that your "Resting Place' can be found not by simply a change of address, but by seeking a change of heart and focus. Whether you live in the Northwood's of Maine or the concrete jungle of Los Angeles you can find what we have found-where you are.