Immunity is the ability of a human body to defend itself by its own mechanisms against viruses, bacteria, parasites and other pathogens. The immune system is activated every time any foreign substance is found in the human body. These foreign agents are called antigens.
When our body detects bacteria or virus, or any other antigen, it’s causing an immune response, which is a trigger for the formation of antibodies. Once created, antibodies stay in a person’s body. They remember what is attacking the organism and prevent these same antigens (bacteria, viruses, allergens) from repeating the attack – when our immune system encounters that antigen again, the antibodies are already there to do their job.
The immune system recognizes and remembers antigens and distinguishes them from agents that belong to the human organism. There are millions of antigens which the immune system recognizes. Oftentimes, they can have just a slight difference among themselves.
Continuous exposure to new bacteria allows our immune system to “learn” and thus becomes more effective in the defense of our body.
Sterile, excessively clean and disinfected environment adversely affects immunity. If we prevent the body from coming into contact with the normal microbiological environment in which we live and if we kill all bacteria from the environment by disinfectants, the organism will not have the opportunity to react and be active but will be asleep. Such an organism is vigorously reacting to everything that normally would not cause reaction. This is the reason for today’s growing trend of autoimmune disease and allergies.
However this can be a big problem for people suffering from germophobia. They have the habit of excessively washing their hands and taking other precautions against contamination. It is necessary of course, to maintain the hygiene of the body and space which we live in. We all know how important is to wash our hands regularly whit soap and water. Although, experts warn us that it does not need to be exaggerated.
Dermatologists point out that healthy bacteria that live on your skin are important and that we can remove them by washing our hands excessively, which will make our body more exposed to various pathogens. Also, excessive use of antibacterial gels leads to cracked skin, which makes bacteria easier to enter the body. All this reduces potential resistance of the body to germs.