I seem to spend half my life loitering outside toilets. No, I am not some sort of pervert, but I have an autistic son who has a penchant for cleanliness, especially where his hands are concerned. He just loves water and has almost missed a flight, and been late for a stage entrance because of it. Whilst everyone was waiting patiently in the wings, he was washing his hands in a manner which would make even the most demanding hospital matron proud.



My son has no sense of urgency and little empathy for other people, so when he does use the mens' toilet, he hogs the hand drier. Anyone waiting behind him eventually gives up and wipes their hands on their trousers.

Whenever possible I make him use the disabled toilet because that way I know he's safe. He goes in alone whilst I loiter outside. My friend once told me about a lady who'd taken her disabled nephew out for the day and allowed him to go in to the toilet on his own. He never came out. Someone had slit his throat.

I've never forgotten her words.

I know that's a bit extreme and highly unlikely to happen in my local supermarket, but I'm a mother and I worry. Daily on the news you hear of unprovoked mindless violence happening against innocent people, and knife crime is common. Just today the stabbing of a 15 year old girl in a lift made the evening news, and apparently 25% of patients on a trauma ward at a large hospital in Southampton are knife victims.

Like most people with disabilities, my son is vulnerable, but this article isn't about knife culture.

As a small child my son had numerous ear infections. He also had numerous courses of antibiotics before he went on to develop autism. That's quite common. No-one told me if you take antibiotics, you MUST take probiotics to replenish the good bacteria so essential for a healthy immune system.

We are a nation obsessed with getting rid of germs using anti bacterial soaps, sprays and liquids. However, we do actually need a few germs around so our bodies can build up an immune system. It's no wonder our children have so many illnesses and allergies when their immune systems never get a chance to develop. We wipe out their good bacteria, then expose them to toxic synthetic chemicals with our cleaning materials and air fresheners.

Maybe there's a better way though. I know for a fact my son has improved tremendously since I started giving him a daily dose of good quality probiotics and started cleaning my house with bacteria.

Now I know that may sound weird, but think about it. The doctors are repeatedly warning us certain health problems are becoming resistant to antibiotics. These kill off ALL bacteria, so why not attack the bad pathonogenic bacteria in a different way. Why not over power them with good bacteria and make it a war of numbers?

You might not like the idea of your toilets and work surfaces being sprayed with bacteria, but the bad ones are there anyway. Personally I'd rather spray with good bacteria than toxic synthetic chemicals which are designed to kill. At least they won't do me any harm if I get them on my skin or breathe them in.

So as I hang around outside the toilets, I'm grateful my son washes his hands properly. He's rarely ever ill but I'm sure it's more to do with the probiotic bacteria he has on a daily basis than the amount of time he spends in the toilet.