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FDA Bans Antibacterial Soaps; "No Scientific Evidence" They're Safe, Effective

posted by martyb on Saturday September 03 2016, @07:11AM   
from the washing-their-hands-of-it dept.

DeathMonkey writes:

In a final ruling announced Friday, the Food and Drug Administration is pulling from the market a wide range of antimicrobial soaps after manufacturers failed to show that the soaps are both safe and more effective than plain soap. The federal flushing applies to any hand soap or antiseptic wash product that has one or more of 19 specific chemicals in them, including the common triclosan (found in antibacterial hand soap) and triclocarbon (found in bar soaps). Manufacturers will have one year to either reformulate their products or pull them from the market entirely.

[...] The ruling does not affect alcohol-based hand sanitizers or wipes, which the agency is reviewing separately. It also does not affect antiseptic products used in healthcare settings.

http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/09/fda-bans-antibacterial-soaps-no-scientific-evidence-theyre-safe-effective/

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Original Submission

• Re:always had a problem with this (Score: 2, Informative) by Francis on Saturday September 03 2016, @03:25PM

  by Francis (5544) on Saturday September 03 2016, @03:25PM (#397038)

  They don't. I remember spending time in the micro-biology lab when I was in college and whenever I'd come or go from there, I'd wash the hell out of my hands. But, the thing people don't realize is that bacteria grow quickly and are very small. It takes an enormous amount of effort to completely remove them from the surface of your hands. IIRC, surgeons will spend the better part of half an hour scrubbing up before surgery.

  The other detail is that bacteria don't cause diseases, imbalances in bacteria and bacteria where they don't belong cause illnesses. If you're washing off and killing all the bacteria that are on your hands, you're not just washing off the dangerous ones, you're also washing off the harmless ones that are a part of your own immune system.

  I don't personally use hand soap very much at all and I pretty much only wash my hands when after using the restroom or when I'm about to cook and that's about it. There's no reason to wash your hands more than that unless there's grime on your hands that you don't want to spread around.

  I don't get sick very often at all, in large part because I'm not actively disrespecting my immune system by introducing a ton of harsh chemicals.

  Parent

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