Antibacterial Products Toxicity
Triclosan in most antibacterial soaps interact with the chlorine in our tap water, creating toxic chloroform. There’s also the risk of encouraging bacteria to adapt to the antibacterial soaps. This is actually the same concern that humans have to deal with when they take antibiotics. The germs can and do adapt. Also, proper washing with regular hand soap is plenty. The Center for Disease control did an in depth study that showed no significant advantage to using antibacterial soaps when compared to regular soap.
Their study also showed that the hands of the doctors who regularly used the antibacterial soaps actually contained higher levels of antimicrobial resistent bacteria. This means that the bacteria are adapting in as little as a year’s time. So there really is little reason to spend extra money on these soaps and the toxicity from the interaction of triclosan and chlorine is just another big reason to go for the cheaper, standard soap. If you have antibacterial soaps or gels with triclosan, you might want to toss it in the garbage.
Triclosan Article at Organic Consumers Association
Soap Article at the World Watch Institute
Antibacterial Study at the Center for Disease Control
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