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Cold & Flu

Antibacterial Soaps - Good or Bad?

By Kristina Duda, R.N., About.com

Updated: April 20, 2007

About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board

Antibacterial soaps are everywhere these days. It seems like every other commercial on TV is advertising soap or a cleaner that "kills 99.9% of germs." It sounds great. Who wouldn't want to have cleaner hands and countertops, right? I know I don't particularly want nasty bacteria and viruses crawling all over my house and my kids. After all, that's how you get sick.

Current Status

There is increasing concern that all these great antibacterial products may actually be contributing to the resistance of bacteria to medications that we currently use to kill them.

For example, there is a type of bacteria called Staphylococcus Aureus (S. aureus for short). The medications most commonly used to kill this infection are penicillins. But recently, a new strain of S. aureus has developed that is resistant to the penicillin class of antibiotics. It is called methicillin-resistant S. aureus, or MRSA. MRSA is a nasty bug that is very hard to treat. It used to be most common in hospitals, but in recent years has shown up in the community. And MRSA is just one in a long list of bacteria that have recently become resistant to the drugs that we have.

Background

Because of the growing problem with MRSA and other resistant bacteria, researchers have been trying to figure out what can be done about it. A study was conducted to test the theory that antibacterial soaps may lead to some of this bacterial resistance. In the study, researchers provided some households with soaps and cleaners that contained antibacterial agents with 0.2% triclosan and others with the same soaps and cleaners that did not contain any antibacterial agents. Cultures were taken from participant's hands before the study and after one year.

Case For

The researchers did not find any significant difference between the two groups. However, they did acknowledge that one year may not have been long enough to study the effects of the antibacterial agents and that their participants could have been more diverse.

Essentially, the researchers concluded that antibacterial soaps and cleaners did not necessarily cause bacteria to become resistant.

Case Against

Antibacterial soaps and cleaners do not provide any benefits over regular soaps and cleaners.

A more comprehensive and longer study is needed to determine whether or not there is a significant link between antibacterial agents and drug resistant bacteria in the community.

Only antibacterial agents containing 0.2% triclosan were studied, not soaps and cleaners containing other active antibacterial ingredients.

Where it Stands

• Antibacterial soaps and cleaners provide no greater benefit than regular soaps and cleaners.
• Antibacterial soap and cleaners (with 0.2% triclosan) do not necessarily contribute to drug resistance.
• More research is needed to come to any definite conclusions about the risks or benefits of antibacterial products.