Even after showering and scrubbing the human body clean, there are over a quadrillion life forms residing both inside and outside the body that can significantly impact human health.
Bacteria, which are abundant microscopic organisms, are an inescapable part of both our surroundings and internal features and can either boost or hurt well-being, UCLA researchers said.
Imke Schroeder, an adjunct assistant professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics, stressed the great quantity of bacteria that live in conjunction with humans, noting that it is estimated that there are more bacteria inside of us and on top of us than there are cells in the human body.
She added that bacteria play a number of key roles in human health.
By raising the acidity of human skin and intestinal tracts, for example, they establish a protective barrier against more harmful organisms that seek to gain entry, Schroeder said.
But certain bacteria are also tied to life-threatening illnesses.
“All infectious diseases come from microbes that live near us,” said Peter Katona, an associate professor of clinical medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine, adding that staph infections and strep infections of the throat are most common among college students.
Schroeder said the organisms are not generally meant to be destructive and only become dangerous when they end up in improper places.
“Most pathogens are accidental pathogens. They don’t belong in the human; they belong outside,” Schroeder said. “They accidentally enter the wrong area and become harmful.”
Soy bacteria, for example, which are usually completely harmless, can cause pneumonia if inhaled, Schroeder said.
Another way for the microorganisms to become destructive is if the number of a certain bacteria rapidly increases, said Beth Lazazzera, an associate professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics.
“There are opportunistic pathogens (that we) live quite happily with, but in an imbalance they cause disease,” Lazazzera said. “Not all bacteria are capable of causing disease, but a number of them that live with us can if there’s some sort of imbalance.”
Many students say that they are aware of the abundance of bacteria and its relationship to human well-being.
“I know it’s really easy to transmit sicknesses,” said Julia Lee, a third-year neuroscience student. “I live in Dykstra (Hall) and I’ve been exposed to the flu a lot of times.”
She said she makes an active effort to avoid contact with dangerous germs.
“This girl down the hall was sick with strep throat, and as much as I wanted to see how she was doing, I knew I had to keep my distance,” Lee said.
Other students are more hesitant to adapt their lifestyles after increased knowledge of bacteria’s benefits and dangers.
“I’m aware that it exists and it’s everywhere, but it’s not like I think about it everyday,” said Nate Miller, a third-year electrical engineering student. “I don’t think I’ve really changed my life a lot with the knowledge that bacteria is everywhere.”
Miller said that his level of cleanliness is average but that he strives to keep the bathroom and kitchen of his apartment most sanitary. He said that the prevalence of microorganisms in those areas most directly affect his personal health.
“(I meet) the basic sanitary needs, but that doesn’t mean that my apartment is necessarily clean. … Spraying everything down with Lysol every day is completely unnecessary,” Miller said. “Still, the most important places that can get you really sick are clean.”
Experts agreed that the best way to prevent the spread of bacteria is with thorough hand-washing, though they also said they do not see much of a difference in benefits between the use of antibacterial instead of regular soap.
“Since we are living in such a high-density environment and we share more potentially harmful organisms, the key is to wash hands,” Schroeder said. “That’s really the most important line of prevention.”
Some professors said antibacterial soap and hand sanitizer, two products often seen on campus, rarely make a tangible health impact over regular soap.
“No soap will kill all bacteria in your hands,” Katona said. “I don’t see much value in antibacterial soaps over regular soaps.”
But Lazazzera said antibacterial soap could be effective when living in extremely close quarters, such as in university residence halls.
“If you live in a much more crowded student situation, it might be worth using (antibacterial soap) just because the potential for spread of diseases in close quarters is more prevalent,” she said.
Still, students and faculty alike say that learning to appreciate the impact of the often-unnoticed organisms would prove beneficial.
“There’s so much out there, and even if you can’t see it, that doesn’t mean it’s not there,” Lee said.