4 ms·
Handwashing with soap doesn't actually kill bacteria, it mechanically dislodges the oils and debris that bacteria are embedded in on your skin and rinses them d
by mtdewcmu 13y ago
Handwashing with soap doesn't actually kill bacteria, it mechanically dislodges the oils and debris that bacteria are embedded in on your skin and rinses them down the drain. So bacteria have no defense.
- dsizzle 13y agoThe ability to burrow in between cells and to have more adhesive surfaces seem like two possible defenses bacteria already vary in and could evolve better. (Surely handwashing doesn't remove 100% of bacteria.) One reason this doesn't pose problems similar to antibiotic resistance is that this defense doesn't become a useful strategy inside the body, where infections are problematic for humans.