In millennia past, there have been all kinds of plagues and pestilence. Mortality rates for human beings were shockingly high by today’s standards. Life expectancy throughout most of history was half of what it is in the modern world within the first world nations. There obviously were many factors in play but what were the most common denominators across the board? Sanitation and the cleanliness of available water were big influences in determining how disease flourished or dwindled throughout a society.

Methods like fermentation were groundbreaking in making hydration available. Particularly in lands that were not always privy to consistent moisture, storing water was essential for survival. But water can easily become dangerously contaminated when not stored properly and in ancient times, knowing how to store it properly was not information that was available. Beer, mead, wine, and other types of alcoholic beverages were made by fermenting sugars derived from grains or fruits and were essential to the survival of some societies, as they had a much longer shelf life than improperly stored water.

Waste management was a major issue as well. During the Industrial Revolution in America, there was much wealth and commerce in the epicenter of American culture at the time, New York City. Because of the massive population growth at the time from immigration, many shoddy tenements popped up with people crammed in from wall to wall. Without any proper system for waste disposal, disease rates skyrocketed and mortality rates went through the barely constructed roofs. When a proper sanitation system was instilled, the disease rates drastically dropped. Obviously, cleanliness was a major issue in preventing illness.

Many people, however, are arguing that we have taken it to an extreme today. Most people know that washing hands after using restroom facilities, before eating and preparing food, and whenever contact with an ill person has taken place increases one’s chances of remaining healthy. But with the rampant use of hand sanitizers by some, the argument is that our immune systems are not getting enough exposure to bacteria to fight infection. Slightly relaxing their standards may sustain optimum health.