News Flash: Soap Kills Germs
literate e. coli by esaskar
I promise: someday I’ll stop with the sarcastic post titles. But today is not that day.
It’s just that I get so frustrated with our national case of germophobia. We’ve put antibiotics into sponges, soaps, clothing, cosmetics, toys, and our bodies, even when the threat isn’t from a bacterial pathogen. So, in the spirit of measurement, data, and the ecometrics way, let’s get down to the science and risk analysis.
Threat: bacterial infection or poisoning
Countermeasure: washing hands in soap and water
Outcome: lots of dead bacteria, happy people
Analysis: The outside layer of bacteria is made largely of fat molecules. Soap can grab these and disperse them in water, effectively skinning the helpless little bacterium alive. Laboratories the world over use “detergents” to “lyse” bacterial cells every day.
Threat: bacterial infection or poisoning
Countermeasure: washing hands in antibacterial soap and water
Outcome: lots of dead bacteria, possible antibiotic resistant bacteria
Analysis: There are trillions of bacteria on your skin, and they multiply constantly. Each multiplication brings the possibility of a mutation that makes the bug resistant to antibiotics. When you constantly wash your hands in antibiotics, you kill off the bacteria that are susceptible, and the resistant ones multiply to take their place, rendering your precious defenses useless. Laboratories the world over also use this property of antibiotic resistance to select for different bacterial strains every day.
So there you have it: your antibiotic soap isn’t really helping, and it may just be hurting. Stop buying it – I promise you won’t get a sudden case of the plague.
Don’t believe me? Ask the FDA:
At this time, the agency does not have evidence that triclosan in antibacterial soaps and body washes provides any benefit over washing with regular soap and water.
I’ll leave you with some fun facts about triclosan:
- Triclosan was first registered as a pesticide in 1969.
- Animal studies have shown that triclosan alters hormone regulation.
- Based on monitoring data, triclosan was found in approximately 36 U.S. streams where effluent from activated sludge waste water treatment plants, trickle-down filtration, and sewage overflow appear to contribute to the occurrence of triclosan in open water.
Seriously: stop buying it. 
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