Before
you reach for that hand sanitizer, consider this: rather than killing
germs, that action is actually more likely to make you – and society –
sicker.
What is worse, perhaps the most comprehensive study of the effectiveness
of antibiotic and non-antibiotic soaps in the U.S., led by Elaine Larson
at Columbia University (with Aiello as a coauthor), found that while
for healthy hand washers there was no difference between the effects
of the two, for chronically sick patients (those with asthma and diabetes,
for example) antibiotic soaps were actually associated with increases
in the frequencies of fevers, runny noses and coughs [4]. In other words,
antibiotic soaps appeared to have made those patients sicker. Let me
say that again: Most people who use antibiotic soap are no healthier
than those who use normal soap. AND those individuals who are chronically
sick and use antibiotic soap appear to get SICKER.
Rob Dunn wrote a guest blog over at Scientific America that every germophobe
should read: Link
(Illustration: Don Smith) – via We,
Beasties
More:
Antibacterial Hand Sanitizer May Actually Make You Sicker
Related posts:
Hi Ken, your article on hand sanitizers got them confused with anti-bacterial soaps. That is very old news. This story first was tracked at least 10 years ago. Triclosan in anti-bacterial soaps has been known not to kill all viruses or bacteria, in effect possibly creating “super bugs”. However, hand sanitizer is made with alcohol, which wipes everything out. It doesn’t cause those problems. Works very well.
is that the case for all hand sanitizers?
see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_sanitizer#Non-alcohol_hand_sanitizers