Do antibacterial soaps do a better job a killing germs? US regulators don’t think so. In fact, it may be doing much worse. The primary ingredient in many antibacterials soaps, triclosan, may be responsible for an increase in childhood allergies. According to Johns Hopkins Children’s Centre, triclosan has been linked to an impact in immune system development in children aged 6 to 18.
Because of this, CNN reports that “manufacturers of antibacterial hand soap and body wash will be required to prove their products are more effective than plain soap and water in preventing illness and the spread of infection, under a proposed rule announced by the Food and Drug Administration.”
It’s been a bad couple of weeks for the hand washing community (i.e. everybody). First, it was shown that washing your hands with hot water makes no difference compared to washing in cold water. Then it was found that only 5 percent of people wash their hands properly. Oh, and 62 percent of restaurant workers don’t wash their hands after handling raw beef.
However, hand washing is still the best way for kids to prevent infection. Here’s some advice from the Austin Diagnostic Clinic:
Source of FDA story: Al-Jazeera
Photo credit: Arlington County via photopincc