Is antibacterial soap harmful?
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. 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, so
Some interesting research has been done regarding how effective antibacterial soap is in reducing microbes…more on that later…. I have a great detailed report here for those interested. One thing is for certain: the body can absorb chemicals through the skin. Witness the medical “patches” for hormones or nicotine. Chemicals can accumulate within the body and gradually or suddenly lead to different breakdowns in body functions. Different bodies have different tolerances. Tolerances may vary depending upon age, diet, body type, chemical accumulations, affected health, etc. The body certainly is affected adversely by chemicals on the skin in some way. This can easily be seen with comparisons of ailments and cancers from countries who rely more on commercial chemical condiments or methods against those countries which do not. For example, countries which have lots of different synthetic chemicals prolific within their culture (cosmetics, soaps, shampoos, cleaning products, adulterated
Triclosan, widely used as an antibacterial ingredient in household hand sterilization products, breaks down rapidly when exposed to chlorinated water and produces toxic chemicals including chloroform, according to a study published on the Environmental Science & Technology research website As Soon As Publishable (ASAP), suggesting that many antibacterial products may not only be ineffective, but harmful
