Antibacterial Soap Could Actually Prove Harmful
Posted August 17, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Not only is it no better for you than normal soap, antibacterial cleansers can actually render common antibiotics less effective.
A team of scientists from the University of Michigan found that washing hands with antibacterial soap was no more effective in preventing infectious illness than the plain stuff.
Basically, the cleanser doesn’t remove any more bacteria than normal soap.
On top of that, because of the way the main active ingredient, triclosan, reacts in cells, it may cause some bugs to become resistant to commonly used drugs such as amoxillin, says Allison Aiello, team leader.
“What we are saying is that these e-coli could survive in the concentrations that we use in our (consumer formulated) antibacterial soaps,” says Aiello. “What it means for consumers is that we need to be aware of what’s in the products. The soaps containing triclosan used in the community setting are no more effective than plain soap at preventing infectious illness symptoms, as well as reducing bacteria on the hands.”
The team looked at 27 studies conducted between 1980 and 2006, and found that soaps containing triclosan were no more effective than plain soaps.
The analysis concludes that government regulators should evaluate the products’ claims and advertising.
