On the other hands there is the Hygiene Hypothesis.
This theory holds that one of the problems in propagating illness is too much sanitation.

The human body has an immune system. Like all the other systems in the body, exercise is important. If you never encounter any germs, your body will lose the ability to deal with them.

I have never been particularly careful about washing my hands. As a farmer, my hands have been in contact with all sorts of things. I rarely have a problem with that. I don't get flu shots, and I haven't had the flu in decades.

OTOH, my wife is in the health care industry and she is a nut about vinyl gloves, hand washing, alcohol wipes on the ipad she uses for work, etc. She gets ill much more frequently than I do.

I tell her it's my exercise of my immune system that makes the difference. She tells me it's my genes. I suspect there is some merit in both sides of the argument, but the best genes in the world won't help if you don't exercise.

PS: I suspect that if you are a sanitation nut and past the age of 30-40, it's too late. The damage has been done already. Wash your hands. You have to start as a kid and keep going all your life.

On the other hands there is the Hygiene Hypothesis.
This theory holds that one of the problems in propagating illness is too much sanitation.

The human body has an immune system. Like all the other systems in the body, exercise is important. If you never encounter any germs, your body will lose the ability to deal with them.

I have never been particularly careful about washing my hands. As a farmer, my hands have been in contact with all sorts of things. I rarely have a problem with that. I don't get flu shots, and I haven't had the flu in
Seems to me that your wife is exposed to more illness in her job than you are in yours. Can you catch many human diseases from cows, etc? I have read some place that people who bite or used to bite their fingernails are less prone to common illnesses because their bodies have been introduced to difference bacteria, etc.











OTOH, my wife is in the health care industry and she is a nut about vinyl gloves, hand washing, alcohol wipes on the ipad she uses for work, etc. She gets ill much more frequently than I do.

I tell her it's my exercise of my immune system that makes the difference. She tells me it's my genes. I suspect there is some merit in both sides of the argument, but the best genes in the world won't help if you don't exercise.

PS: I suspect that if you are a sanitation nut and past the age of 30-40, it's too late. The damage has been done already. Wash your hands. You have to start as a kid and keep going all your life.