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Usually, when there is an outbreak of any sort of virus or flu, such as the Ebola and Zika viruses, our society reacts “accordingly” by hoarding on antibacterial soaps, paints, and other similar products. While this might be good in the short term for overall hygiene, viruses are sadly not threatened by disinfectants. To understand this we all need to go back to our high school days, and more specifically - to biology class.
 
<b>The Anatomy Of A Virus</b>
 
Viruses, as studied, are made up of a resilient protein coating, which is highly resistant to most external factors (UV light, temperature, etc.). This is crucial for the virus as it, unlike the bacteria, needs to get into a human host in order to proliferate, or in other words - to survive. Once inside our bodies, viruses target healthy cells and hijack their genetic apparatus, in order to use it for its own reproduction. Once multiplied, the virus destroys the cells from the inside, moving forward to other cells. This is the general chain reaction mechanism that leads to many of the symptoms of viral diseases. 
 
The bacteria, on the other hand, doesn’t require a human host to multiply or strive (at least most of them don’t). Most of the bacteria in the environment is actually beneficial for our health and we wouldn’t even survive without it. It is estimated that up to 3% of our weight is bacterial, mostly located in our intestinal microflora. It helps us digest certain foods and maintain our pH levels. 
 
<b>Why Is This Information Important? </b>

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Well, let’s get to the point. Imagine a scenario where we load up on antibacterial products such as soaps and detergents. We use them in our daily routines, and keep ourselves relatively clean with them. But what actually happens when we use an antibacterial soap? The short answer to that is that we kill all the bacteria. And by all, we mean 99% of it - both good and bad ones. The remaining 1% though, are all the bacteria that survived (due to a certain mutation). So this all means that with antibacterial soaps all we do is select all the strong, genetically mutated bacteria and kill all the susceptible weak ones. That way, rather sooner than later we will be surrounded by cross-resistant bacterial strains, which will be immune to any sanitizer you use on them. 
 
But let’s focus on the viruses. It is a fact that absolutely nothing happens to them. No antibacterial soap can be even the slightest effective against these tiny organisms. So, by using too much (or even a moderate amount) of antibacterial products, not only that we act as a natural selection for all the weak non-pathogenic bacteria, but we also do zero to nothing on the viral front. Which means that basically, the fear of viruses and wrongly using tons of antibacterial products only leads to us exposing ourselves and our families more to pathogenic bacterial infections. 
 
So, stick to your old soap and water method of washing your hands and face, as this is proven to work in normal everyday situations. 

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<b>Photo Credit</b>
[Photo 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Symian_virus.png)
[Photo 2](https://pixabay.com/get/ea34b00c2ef21c22d2524518a33219c8b66ae3d110b910499df9c071/hands-311366_1280.png)

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<b>Sources</b>
[ASK THE DOCTORS Antibacterial products offer no resistance to viruses](http://hanfordsentinel.com/features/health_and_fitness/antibacterial-products-offer-no-resistance-to-viruses/article_71c81185-143d-5292-884c-10858de9a4fa.html)
[Virus - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virus)