Everyday soap will do
Yes! The FDA has banned anti-bacterial soaps.
Antibacterial soaps were banned from the US market on Friday in a final ruling by the Food and Drug Administration, which said that manufacturers had failed to prove the cleansers were safe or more effective than normal products.
Dr Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA’s center for evaluation and research, said that certain antimicrobial soaps may not actually serve any health benefits at all.
“Consumers may think antibacterial washes are more effective at preventing the spread of germs, but we have no scientific evidence that they are any better than plain soap and water,” she said in a statement. “In fact, some data suggests that antibacterial ingredients may do more harm than good over the long term.”
Let me guess – they may do more harm over the long term for the same reason overuse of antibiotics does: the bacteria evolve to withstand the soaps, so then they’re that much harder to get rid of.
The FDA first proposed a rule about the chemicals in 2013, following research that they might affect human hormones or change natural resistance to bacteria. The agency requested research from the producers to back up their health claims, but in the three years since has found that data lacking or their requests ignored.
Triclosan has been proven effective at killing bacteria if used at sustained length – far longer than the few seconds most people spend washing their hands – and was once only found in healthcare settings.
Recent studies have linked triclosan to a series of disruptions in human and animal health. A University of Chicago study released in July found that triclosan changed the microbiome inside human guts, and its researchers suggested that exposure could damage developing fetuses. A study from earlier this year found that overuse could also be contributing to antibiotic resistance, and a 2015 studyfound that antibacterial formulas were not more effective than soap and water.
So if they’re not more effective, it’s a really bad idea to use then when they could be contributing to antibiotic resistance, eh?
Professor Patrick McNamara, who has published research on antimicrobial soaps, called the ruling “logical” because research shows “there is no added benefit to having these antimicrobial chemicals in soaps”.
He added that triclosan could play a part in driving antibiotic resistance, saying, “after these chemicals are used in our homes they go down the drain to wastewater treatment plants and eventually to the environment where they can select for antibiotic resistance genes”.
“In short, triclosan and triclocarbon present a risk towards propagation of antibiotic resistance,” he said. “Since they do not offer added benefits when washing hands, their use is not worth their environmental risk.”
Thank you FDA.
It’s probably worth pointing out (because I have frequently encountered confusion about this) that hand sanitizer (usually alcohol-based) is not the same as antibacterial soap, and (as far as I know) still recommended as an alternative to handwashing when soap and water is not available.
What about in dish soaps? I mean, there’s nothing wrong with using a quaternary sanitizer but it does add an extra step and another sink compartment/dish bin to fill up with water.
@BKiSA:
According to https://foodsafety.wisc.edu/assets/pdf_Files/ABClean.pdf
According to P&G’s website, Dawn Antibacterial Dish Soap
They don’t even make claims about germs on dishes.
The hand sanitizer needs to be 60% alcohol to be effective.
The reason biocides like triclosan are no more effective than soap at destroying bacteria is because soap itself is very very good at it. It makes their cell walls porous and the cells disintegrate. It’ll do the same to any live cells (nonbacterial) that it contacts which is why it feels so awful when you get it in your eye. If skin didn’t have an outer covering of dead cells, soap wouldn’t be an option.
@Theo:
Ok then, guess I’d better buy some quat or turn up the bleach. What a pain…
@BKiSA: Wow, you must really have a LOT of blood to clean off your dishes? Best not ask.
I have used non-antibacterial dish soap, in the past, and quickly noticed the sponge would develop a mildew-like smell after a week or two. When I switched to anti-bacterial soap, the issue was resolved. Hmmm….
Wow. Another “win” for big brother and the BHO regime!
It took me a few seconds to figure out what “the BHO regime” is.
*rolls eyes*
What? Bad Health Orbiter? Hmm. No. Bet Hounds Organized? Bite Hand Off? Bayreuth Harmonica Orchestra (conductor of)?
I give up.
Barack Hussain Obama.
It’s what the lunatic right calls him, to remind us that he’s a SEKRIT MUSLIM plotting to Muslimize all our precious bodily fluids.
So I wasn’t too far off the mark then.
Now I REALLY need some disinfectant!
#11
It reminds me of the way some dickheads, e.g. slymepitters, rephrase ‘s/he’ as ‘s/h/it’ when discussing anything gender or trans related. The purpose of such a snipe appears to be to remind the world of how petty they are.
One explanation for the increase in allergies in the West is excessive cleanliness, that is our immune systems don’t get enough practice at recognising and fighting microbes. I don’t know whether or not ‘anti-bacterial’ soaps are implicated, although it seems plausible.
The UK government intends to ban ‘micro-beads’ which are used in soap gels and cosmetics, apparently they’re extremely detrimental to the environment after they’re flushed down the sewers into the ocean.
Strictly speaking, antibacterial soaps are antiseptic, not antibiotic, and don’t necessarily contribute to antibiotic resistance (they kill bacteria in a different way than antibiotics do). They may contribute to antiseptic resistance, which would also be bad. Which is why antibacterial cleansers should be reserved for where they are really needed like hospitals.
But their more direct negative consequence to the consumer is probably disruption of the microbiome on the skin. One of the first lines of defense against harmful microbes is the benign microbes already on your skin. Killing the benign microbes on your skin makes it that much easier for the next harmful microbe to land on you to settle in and start a big family with no competition.
Yeah. I’ll believe all this when hospitals stop using antibacterial soaps and lotions.
“..One of the first lines of defense against harmful microbes is the benign microbes already on your skin.” – which you wash down the drain every time you shower, along with the accumulated ‘bad’ microbes since the last shower. What’s next, hand sanitizers?