No, that is not a typo. Scientists in the new Human Microbiome Project at the National Institute of Health have sequenced genes from 20 skin sites of volunteers and “found that bacteria hailed from 10 different phyla, 205 genera, and 112,000 individual bacteria,” using a sophisticated molecular technique of microbial DNA analysis. So, you and I have this much germs crawling on our skin.
The variety discovered was much greater than previously known, with the forearm showing 44 species of bacteria on average, amazingly greater than those in the belly button and the armpits. The skin behind the ears had the least diverse, with 19 species on average.
Three areas of the skin were studied: dry, moist and oily. The dry areas included the inside surface of the mid forearm, the palm and the buttock. The oily skin is between the eyebrows, beside the nose, inside the ear, the upper chest and back. The moist sites were inside the nose, the armpit, the inner elbow, between the middle and ring fingers, the side of the groin, the top fold of the buttocks, behind the knee, the bottom of the foot and the navel (belly button).
The study also revealed that “dry and moist skin had a boarder range of microbes than did oily skin.”
“Our work has laid an essential foundation for researchers aiming to treat or prevent skin diseases….We hope this will speed efforts to understand factors involved in eczema, psoriasis, acne and other disorders affecting the skin,” research leader Dr Julia Segre of the US National Human Genome Research Institute said in the journal Science.
The four genera of bacteria that appear to be permanent resident of the skin are Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Propionibactreria, and Corynebacteria. This accounts for more than 50 percent of the microbial population on our skin. The others appear to be more transient or vary from time to time.
Some scientists believe that these bacteria on our skin and those in our digestive tracts or elsewhere in our body, have evolved with us, and that “microbes are not accidental, but have been living in animals for a billion years.” Some of these are good bacteria that help in our body physiology, providing protective layer on our skin or in our digestive function.
Unless indicated and prescribed by physicians, antibiotics (oral or topical) are harmful to the good bacteria in our body. This is why many patients on long term antibiotic treatment for infections develop diarrhea, and abuse of antibiotics also leads to bacterial drug resistance to therapy.
The popularly used hand sanitizers and alcohol dry the hands and skin. Washing with water, or with soap and water (not strong detergents), are still safer and more economical. The use of skin moisturizing lotion after each cleansing is highly recommended to maintain the protective integrity of our skin.
While we do not want the bad bacteria on our skin or in our gut, “over-sanitizing” our skin, our body, is more dangerous than the bugs themselves. Practicing good habits and discipline, like not touching our face because our fingers are loaded with germs, and washings our hands before and after each meal, after holding public door knobs, escalator banisters, etc., are prudent ways to cut down bacterial or viral skin, respiratory, and gastrointestinal infections.
The old fashioned hand-washing (especially including our forearms), even up to 8 times a day following various activities and showering daily are still healthy habits that simply maintain good hygiene and the proper balance of the bacterial flora on our skin and in our body.
Caution on mineral oil
One of the most versatile oils known to man is mineral oil. Commonly called liquid petroleum, mineral oil is a by-product of the crude oil that results from distillation of petroleum in producing gasoline and other petroleum-based products. It is colorless, tasteless and odorless, and is insoluble water and alcohol. It is abundantly available and is inexpensive.
Mineral oil is a common ingredient in baby oil or lotion, ointments to reduce or prevent diaper rash, alleviate mild eczema, as cold creams and cosmetics, such as eye-lashes strengthener, make-up and temporary tattoo remover. Mineral oil is present in more than 450 skin moisturizers in the market.
Mineral oil is also used in protecting alkali metals like lithium, which are submerged in mineral oil for storage and transport. It is also used to protect and prevent oxidation in weapons, metal tools, guitar strings, poker chips, leather goods, preserve wood products, and as lubricant and coolant for machines, as transformer oil and hydraulic fluid. In some custom-built projects, computers are immersed in mineral oil to absorb the heat and cool down the system. This petro-chemical is also the basis for most engine oils.
Mineral oil has also been used on cooking utensils or to grease cook wares and bake wares to prevent food from sticking. It is also used to remove adhesives and sticky gums. It is also used as pesticide for edible plants. It is a dust-suppresent on furniture surfaces, and useful in cleaning stains from heavy oils.
Medically, mineral oil is used as laxatives for people with constipation and/or hemorrhoids, to soften stool, and help ease bowel movement. Since it coats the gastrointestinal tract, mineral oil use can prevent the absorption of certain vitamins and important nutrients. Chronic use of mineral oil as laxative can be harmful.
Mineral oil has also been found effective in cleaning ear canals of ear wax, except for those with perforated eardrums, where mineral oil can cause infection of the middle ear.
It is also used to lubricate the birth canal for delivery. It is not to be used with latex condom as lubricant as it will impair its integrity. It is not safe to use mineral oil in combination with other stool softeners. If applied to hair, it will cause dandruff. Inhalation of mineral oil can damage the lungs.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved mineral oil “in personal care and cosmetic products, as well as for an additive for food to 10 mg/kg of daily consumption.”
Also as a laxative, under a physician’s supervision.
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Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus in Northwest Indiana and chairman of cardiac surgery from 1997 to 2010 at Cebu Doctors University Hospital, where he holds the title of Physician Emeritus in Surgery, is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the Philippine College of Surgeons, and the Denton A. Cooley Cardiovascular Surgical Society. He is the chairman of the Filipino United Network – USA, a 501(c)(3) humanitarian foundation in the United States. Email:[email protected]
