Our obsession with cleanliness

[tomjax2]

I am often amused with the many posts on sterilizinig our equipment.
I referred to in previous posts about the "hygiene hypothesis"

Maybe we are too clean for our own good and in our evolution, exposure to pathogens kept us healthy by stimulating our immune system.

This is an article in science daily.

check it out.

Makes a lot of sense.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 192005.htm

[LinkC]

Good article. I had heard that logic before, decrying the overuse of "anti-bacterial" products. It does make sense.

That being said, I don't think I want to breathe air that's passed over a green slimy swamp percolating in my humidifier. There's such a thing as going too far.

[JohnBFisher]

... I am often amused with the many posts on sterilizinig our equipment. ...

Yup. It's just not that necessary. I'm not saying to not clean the humidifier, hose and mask. I just don't think that for people with a fairly normal immune system it is all that necessary.

... I don't think I want to breathe air that's passed over a green slimy swamp percolating in my humidifier ...

Well, you should NOT have anything growing in the humidifer. Keep distilled water and there is nothing in which bacteria can thrive. The air hose is FULL of one thing that normally is very bad for most germs - lots of air. The mask usually needs more cleaning than the rest, simply because of oils and mucous. But even here, just a simple, gentle soap wash with warm water is enough.

Do I do a more thurough cleaning? Sure. As I've mentioned, after I return from a trip where I stayed in a hotel room I often do that to purge the smell from the room. And there are times when I do sense other smells. So, I clean it then. But it's just not that often.

[Paul56]

Good article. I had heard that logic before, decrying the overuse of "anti-bacterial" products. It does make sense.

That being said, I don't think I want to breathe air that's passed over a green slimy swamp percolating in my humidifier. There's such a thing as going too far.

Put some snails in that tank... won't be long they will have it all cleaned up.

[JohnBFisher]

... Put some snails in that tank... won't be long they will have it all cleaned up ...

Yuck! Snorting snail snot each night!

Now if that image doesn't give you nightmares, nothing will.

[plr66]

... Put some snails in that tank... won't be long they will have it all cleaned up ...

Yuck! Snorting snail snot each night!

Now if that image doesn't give you nightmares, nothing will.

Well actually for me, it's the snail poop!

[Wulfman]

This dialog jogged my memory of a very old post....by our old friend/forum member Derek.




From this link:


viewtopic/t47371/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=18 ... ier#p12910


Den



.

[roster]

à la Bourguignone or Feuilleté aux escargots?

Or just pulling them off the sides of rocks in the surf, picking out the body with a toothpick and enjoying! Delicious and healthy. Calcium, magnesium and vitamin C.

(Don't do it in polluted waters.)

[kteague]

Good to 'see' you Tomjax.

[Gerryk]

I for one do not clean may cpap equipment religiously like I did when I first started. I was completely cleaning my mask, completely disassenbling it every day. I was cleaning my hose a few times a week. Not trying to be funny, but it was almost OCD behavior with cleaning my mask. I slowly let up as I began using it more.

I don't like the idea of all this anti bacterial stuff but it's everywhere. When I was a kid I went out in the morning and came in at night. I didn't go in for lunch, I walked into the garden and grabbed something from there and at that . Much faster, I didn't have to wash my hands and face and have mom check to see if I washed good enough. I could eat dirt if I wanted to and she wouldn't know. Sometimes I did eat some dirt that was on a tomato but I didn't care. I am still here and still alive so I guess that dirt didn't hurt me.

Just for the record, I didn't walk to school uphill ten miles both ways. I am not that old.

Gerry

[timbalionguy]

I very quickly learned that there was no point doing all the disinfecting stuff. I thoroughly rinse the humidifier tank daily (easy to do on the IntelliPAP), and thoroughly wash the mask twice a day (once when I get up, and once just before use). The two-a-day cleaning is the most effective way I have come up with to remove face oil from the silicone (It actually exudes oil while sitting on the shelf during the day). Too early to tell if this will be effective long-term, but I am starting to notice that the silicone is routinely starting to stay clearer.

I, too am not into all this 'antibacterial' stuff, although I do use it for hand soap. I kiss tigers on the nose and handle dead animals to feed to them. I shovel all sorts of crap. I take just simple and reasonable steps to keep my hands clean before eating, etc. I like my meat blood rare (except for pork and fowl). I haven't gotten sick yet. In fact, in the eight years I have been actively working with the cats, my rate of cold and flu is the lowest it has been in my entire life.

[LinkC]

Ohhhhhhh.....SNAP! I read that as "nails"!

So I gathered up all the toenail clippings from under the bed, and... Well, you probably don't want to hear the rest; I'll just let it go at that.