Choose Regular Soap Over Antibacterial Soap

Antibacterial soap and disinfectants may contain any number of 275 different active ingredients classified by the EPA as pesticides. Studies by government scientists have shown that regular use of antibacterial soap allows bacteria to become resistant to them and can irritate the skin, especially the skin of infants and children. In fact, in 2005, an FDA panel, in an 11 to 1 vote, warned that popular mass-marketed antibacterial soaps and washes showed no evidence of preventing infections more effectively than hand washing with regular soap.

The FDA asked for the panel’s advice because of concerns that common antimicrobial agents used in the soaps, such as triclosan and triclocarban, widely used in products ranging from soaps to plastics, accumulate in groundwater and soil. As they accumulate in the environment, these chemicals could eventually contaminate drinking water and farmed food. This could give rise to potentially dangerous resistant bacteria.

Though presently the risk of selecting for resistant bacteria with antibacterial soap is theoretical, several experts caution that even the potential risk of resistance may not be worth continued mass marketing of soaps that have no proven benefit to consumers. Drug-resistant bacteria are considered a major health threat by public health experts. Some strains, including S. aureus (staph), have alarmed experts with increased levels of resistance to multiple antibiotics. The safest solution is to wash your hands frequently for 15 seconds at a time with warm soapy water and using paper towels or air drying to avoid transmitting infections.

References

1. US Environmental Protection Agency. Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances (7506C); EPA 735-F-93-050, September 21, 2004.
2. Litjen Tan, PhD; Nancy H. Nielsen, MD, PhD; Donald C. Young, MD; Zoltran Trizna, MD, PhD; for the Council on Scientific Affairs, American Medical Association, http://archderm.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/138/8/1082/