Antibacterial soap

Chingada

Banned
Feb 14, 2004
344
0
0
Victoria
The Truth About Antibacterial Soaps--And Why You Should Avoid Them


By Dr. Joseph Mercola
with Rachael Droege


It used to be that antibacterial soaps were used mainly in clinical health care environments. Now, antibacterial soaps are used in households across the country where they amount to a $16 billion-a-year industry. Some 72 percent of all liquid soap sold in the United States now contains antibacterial ingredients.


The active ingredient in most antibacterial products is triclosan, an antibacterial agent that kills bacteria and inhibits bacterial growth. But not only does triclosan kill bacteria, it also has been shown to kill human cells. Triclosan was introduced into consumer products in 1995, and its use has spread rapidly.


Antibacterial ingredients have become so prevalent in the United States that there are now antibacterial soaps, laundry detergents, shampoos, toothpastes, body washes, dish soaps and many household cleaning products.

Consumers use these products because they have been marketed as an effective and necessary way to lower the risk of infection. However, many scientists fear that the widespread use could lead to a strain of resistant bacteria, or “superbugs,” and cause the ingredients to lose effectiveness for the times when they really are needed.

And now, the first major test in people's homes has found that using antibacterial products apparently offers little protection against the most common germs. The study represents the first time scientists have attempted to evaluate the products under real-life, day-to-day conditions in homes.

In the study, published in the March 2, 2004 journal Annals of Internal Medicine, people who used antibacterial soaps and cleansers developed cough, runny nose, sore throat, fever, vomiting, diarrhea and other symptoms just as often as people who used products that did not contain antibacterial ingredients.

The researchers pointed out that most of the symptoms experienced by the study participants are typically caused by viruses, which the antibacterial soaps don’t protect against. And for the symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea, which may be caused by bacteria, the people who used regular soaps had no greater risk than those who used antibacterial products.

Further, many traditional medical circles now accept the hygiene hypothesis, which centers on the idea that children need to be exposed to some bacteria in early childhood in order to strengthen their immune systems. Children who are not exposed to common bacteria, which are wiped out by antibacterial soap, may be more prone to allergies and asthma.

Even the American Medical Association (AMA) does not recommend these products. So why do they persist? Simple; the manufacturers have relied on using fear to convince people that they need to use them to stay healthy. So, avoid being duped by these companies. All you need to use is a plain, chemical-free soap that you can pick up in your local health food store, as washing with plain soap and water will get rid of most all bacteria.
 

niteowl

Member
Jun 29, 2004
913
1
18
Burnaby
Well it's pretty scary that a few AMP's that I've been to have antibacterial soap in the shower. So I could not imagine what could happen when you shower your privates with antibacterial soap.
 

LonelyGhost

Telefunkin
Apr 26, 2004
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Antibacterial soaps arose out of the soaps that surgeons use to 'scrub' and became a marketing tool for the paranoid masses!

Washing your hands with soap does not 'kill' anything no matter what you use ... the use of soap and water functions as follows: the soap contains oils that lubricate and foam ... the action of 'washing' your hands with the soap causes the bacteria and viruses to get slipperly and rise up with the foam ... by then rinsing your hands under water, you have effectively rinsed most of them (not all) off the surface of your hands. If you then use paper towels to dry your hands you will be fairly germ free for a little while.

The two simpliest things to do to avoid getting sick is to wash your hands frequently and to NOT touch anything above your neck with your hands! The typical pathways for viruses and bacteria is through the nose, mouth, eyes and ears ... so don't touch any of them with your hands and stay healthy.

Oh yeah, and stay away from kids who are sick ... when they cough or sneeze they release upwards of a 100 million germs each time! This is because their immune systems are undeveloped and more of the viruses etc can get in and out ... in contrast, the average adult cough or sneeze is a paltery few million.
 

GiGi

New member
Jul 28, 2004
68
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Edmonton
Regarding Antibacterial Soap

OK I need to throw in my .02 worth here as well:


4)yes it does hurt your skin and kill your own cells. on that same token it kills the normal 'good' bacteria on your skin as well that help protect you against the bad bacteria.

So what you are saying here is that antibacterial soap disrupts the normal flora on the surface of your skin which protects against bad bacteria. Very true. Then you go on to say:

In the hospital we do NEED them (antibacterial soap). the patients/clients i take care of are immunocompromised already and if i bring in germs, they're fukked. more than half of the pneumonia cases with seniors in hospitals are because staff don't wash their hands properly. imagine the stats if we didn't use antibacterial soap. (i'm not sure the exact number but it's huge...i can look it up if you need me to)

So you wash your hands how many times per day during your clinicals - 10, maybe 15 times only with antibacterial soap? So you've killed off a number of your normal flora by the end of your shift, increasing the likelihood that bad bacteria may take up residence on your skin. This may in turn place your immunocompromised patients at greater risk (during activities with them that do not require you to wear gloves such as feeding). The emphasis should be, as you mentioned, proper hand washing, and not use of antibacterial soap. When I learned about universal precautions, we were taught frequent handwashing using proper technique with regular soap, not antibacterial soap. I for one would like to see the statistics you mention regarding non-use of antibacterial soap in connection with an increase in nosocomial infections.

6)I don't agree with you saying that the manufacturers are doing that just to convince us we need them.

Well, you must be the sort of consumer that the manufacturers just love! If you believe this, you are living in a dream world. The general consumer does not need antibacterial soap for handwashing, and the units I've worked on in hospitals use regular hand soap (plus we use gloves/masks/hand sanitizer/etc.). Exceptions may be in the OR (which I haven't worked in as of yet). Manufacturers of all kinds of products play on the ignorance of consumers (and I'm talking the general public, not hospital staff), making them believe that one sort of product is better than the other for all sorts of unscientific reasons. Just the word "antibacterial" is enough to sucker in anyone - hey, if I use this soap I won't get sick because I won't have any bacteria on my skin - it perturbs me that manufacturers will deceive in order to make more money - but money makes the world go 'round, and a few lies won't hurt anyone, right?


Show me some recent evidence-based peer reviewed research proving the effectiveness of antibacterial soap versus regular soap, say, on a med/surg floor or in a continuing care environment and I might change my tune.
 

GiGi

New member
Jul 28, 2004
68
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0
Edmonton
LonelyGhost said:
Antibacterial soaps arose out of the soaps that surgeons use to 'scrub' and became a marketing tool for the paranoid masses!
Couldn't have said it better myself. You are an intelligent consumer.
 
Ashley Madison
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