Washing and Use of Testosterone: The Action

¶ … Washing and Use of Testosterone:

The Action of Hand Soap Bacteria:

Hand washing is an important practice for body hygiene because of its seeming effectiveness in preventing the transmission of bacteria. Actually, it is believed that hand washing helps to lessen the risk of bacterial infection through removing and destroying bacterial cells. Generally, the use of hand soap while complying with the good washing practices help an individual to destroy bacteria in the hands, which in turn decreases the spread of diseases or illnesses. The need to wash hands using hand soap is attributed to the accumulation of bacteria on the surface of a person's hands because of numerous opportunities brought by day-to-day activities. For instance, a person encounters bacteria every time he/she touches another individual, touches raw meat, and handles money. The bacteria can get into the individual's hands and under his/her fingernails and spread if he/she touches any other part of the body before washing his/her hands.

One of the major ways that has traditionally been used to destroy such bacteria is washing hands with water only. This is primarily because running warm water over a person's hands loosens the bacteria, removes them, and sends them down the drain to die. However, this method is seemingly ineffective because water alone cannot penetrate oils, fats, and proteins that are usually on the surface of hands. Therefore, it's important to wash hands using hand soap because it's an effective way of penetrating oils, proteins, and fats and destroying bacteria.

Hand soaps help in killing bacteria by containing Triclosan, which is a powerful synthetic chemical (Angkadjaja, 2012). This synthetic chemical is designed to prevent wastes from being transported out of the bacteria cell, which in turn causes the accumulation of toxins and poisons the cell. This common ingredient in hand soaps immobilizes the cell membrane of bacteria through preventing the procedure that elongate hydrocarbon chains, which promote the growth and function of cell membrane. Triclosan prevents the process of fatty acids elongation through inhibiting a bacterial enzyme, which in turn kills the bacteria systematically.

In the past few years, there have been numerous debates on whether antibacterial soaps kills or destroys bacteria since Triclosan seems to promote the resistance of bacteria. As an anti-fungal agent, Triclosan, which is the common ingredient in hand washing soaps, does not necessary kill bacteria. It essentially binds to the bacteria through a chemical reaction and limits the ability of the bacteria to reproduce and develop cell membranes. Triclosan contributes to the eventual death of bacteria by poisoning an enzyme that is essential for the survival and growth of the bacteria. The other way with which hand wash soaps contribute to the death of bacteria is through opening holes in the bacterial cell membrane. Soaps open holes in bacterial cell membrane since the membrane consists of surfactants just like soap. The surfactants in the bacterial cell membrane have two layers, whose molecules are turned inside-out by adding soap and scrubbing. This enables the soap to penetrate inside and bacteria to leak while harming enzymes that are crucial for its survival and reproduction.

Use of Testosterone:

In studies conducted on animals, testosterone injections have been found to make male rats more aggressive in marking their territories. These injections have also been found to cause castrated red deer to develop antlers and provoke female rhesus monkeys to squeal like males (Singer, 2006). On the other hand, studies conducted on human beings have shown that testosterone supplements have enhanced and fostered muscles, which is the main reason why they are preferred by athletes. In the sports world, these supplements are believed to be magic bullets that provoke athletes to do several things such as train harder, swim faster, run quicker, and recover sooner.

The main reason for athletes increased engagement in the use of testosterone supplements and injections is that it gives them competitive advantage over their rivals. In essence, the supplementing hormones through testosterone injections enhance an athlete's endurance and overall performance. While the supplements do not provide instant jolt for the athlete, they work over time to enhance and strengthen the person's muscles. This implies that long-term use and buildup of these supplements and injections would generate results in terms of improved overall performance.

Generally, the levels of testosterone in a person's body have significant effects on physical stature and performance of the individual. Testosterone is described as a type of anabolic hormone that naturally develops in a person's adrenal glands and testes. The hormone is responsible for various functions in the body such as physical fitness and strength, sexual desire, competitive feelings, and bone density. Testosterone supplements are used to remedy the deficiency of these hormones for individual who produce less than others. Deficiency of the hormone contributes to low libido, muscle loss, wrinkled skin, and loss of bone density. Even though testosterone supplements are illegal in nearly all sports, some athletes use them to gain unfair advantage through increased energy levels, mass, strength, and muscle size.