Regular soap is just as effective as anti-bacterial soap at getting rid of germs through hand washing, a new study finds.
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Scientists in Korea have discovered that using antibacterial soap when handwashing is no more effective than using plain soap, according to a paper published today in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.
They found no “significant” difference between antibacterial and normal soap, and chose to see if soaking would yield a different outcome.
Lead study author Min-Suk Rhee comments “This study shows that presence of antiseptic ingredients (in this case, triclosan) in soap does not always guarantee higher anti-microbial efficacy during hand washing”.
The samples were heated to 22 or 40 degrees Celsius, which simulated exposure to warm or hot water for 20 seconds which is the advised duration for hand-washing given by the World Health Organisation.
So the next time you’re shopping for hand soap, save some money and save the bacteria.
It’s hard to find a hand soap these days that doesn’t claim it is “antibacterial”, but is it really better than regular soap? It is the active ingredient in most antibacterial soaps.
Even though they may not be immediately effective, antibacterial soaps still have the power to leave traces on the germs they are trying to kill.
In a new study, regular soap performed just as well as anti-bacterial soap, which contains the controversial chemical triclosan.
When bacteria were continuously exposed to triclosan for very long periods of time – nine hours or more – the antiseptic demonstrated “significantly” stronger antibacterial properties, the researchers said.
The team also compared the ability of antibacterial and non-antibacterial soap to remove bacteria from human hands in real-life situations. Rhee found that the antibacterial soap was not better than soap and water when it came to eradicating most of the bacterial strains.
Triclosan is an antimicrobial agent commonly found in antibacterial and antifungal products.
May 21, 2014 – Conclusion: Recent evidence suggests that triclosan exposure may alter cancer risk, although human studies are lacking in both number and…
It’s unclear why triclosan didn’t outshine regular soap, but perhaps the substance needs more time to do its work, the researchers said.
2) The soaps contained detergents and surfactants which could reduce the effectiveness of triclosan.
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Back in 2013, the US Food and Drug Administration announced plans to carry out an investigation of its own to assess whether triclosan does in fact pose a threat to public health and should be banned.
