I wasn’t sure if this question came under biology or chemistry so I went for chemistry.
I use an antimicrobial wash called Hibiscrub (I think Hiniclens is the US alternative). I am prescribed it for washing in due to an autoimmune condition that affects the skin. I read that antimicrobial wash is a treatment for MRSA as it kills the bacteria.
However my GP just suggested that I no longer wash in it every day as it can cause MRSA infections. So ELI5, how does something that kills MRSA also cause MRSA? Shouldn’t it just cancel itself out?
In: Chemistry
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***Disclaimer: Always do as your doctor orders, no matter what anyone says on the internet.***
To put it simply, when you use hand sanitizers, you kill the famous 99.9% of the bacteria… but what about the remaining 0.01%?
This number is clearly an estimate, but it shows that just like every human is different, every bacteria is different too. Some are just more resilient, and they do not die. So what happens when you kill all the others? You basically reduce the competition, and now this “Super bacteria” can reproduce much more.
This is kind of like the actual evolution! But forced. You kill many bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, but a tiny number remain which might be even more resistant! This tiny number has no competition and reproduces.
The same also happens with pests. That’s why farmers use different (And sometimes stronger) pesticides and mix them together for each operation.
One of the things your microbiome does is compete for resources with foreign microbes. It’s highly possible that most of the people reading this have MRSA on us. But the skin fauna is so prevalent on your skin, the MRSA has a hard time catching up.
When you use antimicrobial wash, you wipe the skin mostly clean, and the fauna has to repopulate. It’s during this time that the MRSA has a chance to get ahead. It’s a slim chance, but the more often to do it, the more you risk it happening.
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