Did you know that antibacterial soaps are tied to a public health crisis? It's true. The fervent use of antibacterial soaps and other antimicrobial products may be contributing to a growing scourge: antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Antibiotic-resistant infections now claim more lives each year than the "modern plague" of AIDS, and cost the American health care system some $20 billion a year.
What will it take before it's taken seriously?
Hand Washing -- Your First Line of Defense Against Infectious Disease
Washing your hands is your number one protection against the acquisition and spread of infectious disease, but you do not need to use antimicrobial soap to get the job done.
Numerous studies attest to this fact, such as this 2007 systematic review published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, which confirmed that antibacterial soap containing triclosan did not provide any additional benefit compared with a non-antibacterial soap.
The authors concluded:
"The lack of an additional health benefit associated with the use of triclosan-containing consumer soaps over regular soap, coupled with laboratory data demonstrating a potential risk of selecting for drug resistance, warrants further evaluation by governmental regulators regarding antibacterial product claims and advertising."
Proper Hand Washing Technique
While you don't need antibacterial soap, it is important to use proper a hand washing technique. To make sure you're actually removing all germs when you wash your hands, follow these guidelines:
1. Use warm water
2. Use a mild soap
3. Work up a good lather, all the way up to your wrists, for at least 20 seconds
4. Make sure you cover all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your
fingers and around and below your fingernails
5. Rinse thoroughly under running water
6. Dry your hands with a clean towel or let them air dry
7. In public places, use a paper towel to open the door as a protection from germs that the
handles may harbor
Wash your hands when they look dirty, and prior to, or after, performing certain tasks that could spread infection, such as in these instances:
• Before and after preparing food, especially when handling raw meat and poultry
• Before eating
• Before and after treating wounds or taking/giving medicine
• Before touching a sick or injured person
• Before inserting contact lenses
• After using the toilet or changing a diaper
• After touching an animal, its toys, leashes or waste
• After blowing your nose or coughing/sneezing into your hands
• After handling garbage or potentially contaminated waste
Antibacterial Products Pose Several Health Risks
Once you understand that good-old-fashioned soap and water are just as effective as modern antibacterials, the second issue becomes that of side effects. In a 2010 press release, Dr. Sarah Janssen of the Natural Resources Defense Council is quoted as saying:
"It's about time FDA has finally stated its concerns about antibacterial chemicals like triclosan. The public deserves to know that these so-called antibacterial products are no more effective in preventing infections than regular soap and water and may, in fact, be dangerous to their health in the long run."
Yes, while paying more for antibacterial products you don't need, you're also putting your health at risk in a number of ways, including:
1. Early data shows that overuse may be contributing to the creation of hardier, more
resistant bacterial strains. Even the American Medical Association (AMA) does not
recommend
href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/06/17/anti-bacterial-
soap.aspx" target="_hplink">antibacterial soaps for this very reason.
2. Adding to your body's toxic burden.
3. Triclosan, the active ingredient in most antibacterial soap, not only kills bacteria, it also
has been shown to kill human cells, and has been shown to possibly act as an endocrine
disrupter.
4. These products kill both bad and good bacteria, which is another explanation for how
they contribute to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and potentially also to
allergic diseases like asthma and hay fever.
5. A child raised in an environment devoid of dirt and germs, and who is given antibiotics
that kill off all of the good and bad bacteria in his gut, may not be able to build up natural
resistance to disease, and becomes vulnerable to illnesses later in life. This theory, known
as the hygiene hypothesis, could be one reason why many allergies and immune-system
diseases have doubled, tripled or even quadrupled in the last few decades.
Antibacterial Soap Mixed with Chlorinated Water is a Dangerous Mix
As if that weren't enough, when triclosan mixes with the chlorine in your tap water, chloroform is formed, which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified as a probable human carcinogen. I warned about this compounding danger more than five years ago.
In tests that closely mirror typical dishwashing habits and conditions, researchers have found that triclosan reacts with free chlorine to generate more than 50 parts per billion (ppb) of chloroform in your dishwater. And, when combined with other disinfection byproducts (DBPs), the additional chloroform could easily drive the concentration of total trihalomethanes above the EPA's maximum allowable amount.
As I've discussed before, trihalomethanes are some of the most dangerous chemical byproducts there are. The maximum annual average of THMs in your local water supply cannot exceed 80 ppb (parts-per-billion), but there really is no "safe" level of these chemicals.
Why Use Something that has NO Clear Health Benefits and Plenty of Possible Health Hazards?
The research clearly shows that you do not need antimicrobial soap to effectively protect yourself from germs. All you need is plain soap and warm water. Ditto for your dishes and your laundry.
So please, avoid using antibacterial soaps and other products containing these hazardous ingredients. They're just harming you and the environment, and adding to a significant public health problem. They also cost more.
Instead, just use a gentle, chemical-free soap. Local health food stores typically carry a variety of natural soaps that will do the trick without harsh chemicals.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Data on antimicrobial resistance is from in vitro studies only
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When you return from a meeting, church, social gathering where you are in a room with lots of people it is a good idea to sanitize your hands and no just washing with soap and water does not do the job.
Returning from the grocery store where you may have touched packages or vegetables that others have fondled and caressed and sneezed on is a good time to sanitze.
Everytime you shake hands with someone you are at risk and might end up with their cold or their son's cold or their grand kids cold.
My aunt lived to be 90 years old and never got sick. She told me the secret was the hand sanitizer everytime you come home from going out anywhere.