Soap!

I wanted to do a post about soap because I've been wondering lately what the difference is between an old-fashioned basic bar of soap and antibacterial soaps or gels. This is especially relevant since we're entering cold/flu season and everyone seems to be increasingly germaphobiac. I kind of toe the line on this issue: I don't consider myself to be particularly afraid of germs and usually try to avoid hand sanitizer because I believe that being exposed to some germs is beneficial for immunity. Plus, I've always thought that soap and water do the trick just fine. However, there are definitely times when I'm grateful for hand sanitizer because it is convenient and at least gives me the feeling that my hands are cleaner (think outhouse usage).

I did a little light (ok very light) research on the topic and here is the gist of what I found. Soap works by doing two things: decreasing the water's surface tension and binding to bacteria, dirt, and oil. Parts of water are water-loving and others are water-phobic. The water-phobic parts (the fatty acids) can bind to other water-phobic agents such as molecules of dirt or bacteria. Then they become encapsulated in a water molecule and so are washed off. So soap does eliminate bacteria from the skin; it just helps by washing it off versus killing it off as with anti-bacterial agents.

Some points to consider are that most antibacterial agents need to be left on the skin's surface for two minutes in order to actually kill of the bacteria. Some bacteria are beneficial- such as those that eat our sweat! It's possible that over time, bacteria could develop into more resistant strains as a result of antibacterial use. Both the Center for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration have said that antibacterial agents are not superior to regular soap and that there may even be harmful effects to using antibacterial products. In fact, one website I perused mentioned that most common diseases are viral and so not prevented by antibacterial agents anyway.

You may be wondering what the difference is to bacteria whether they are washed off or eliminated using antibacterial agents in terms of resistant strains of bacteria developing. I think the idea is that antibacterial agents such as triclosan could accumulate in the environment through the water supply and enter the soil. As they are more prevalent, strains of bacteria that are resistant will have a survival advantage. I wonder if it also matters that bacteria that are washed off could still live on and thus maybe preclude the development of more resistant bacteria.

I think there are situations in which alcohol-based antibacterial agents would be beneficial such as in hospitals or in situations where washing with soap and water isn't possible. But I think that I will try to limit my antibacterial use. I prefer to wash my hands with plain ole bar soap and water. I find that it's not as drying to my hands and I like that it doesn't require any packaging. And when using natural soap without fragrances or added antibacterial agents, you don't have to worry about adding these ingredients into the water supply. Another point is that I seem to remember when antibacterial hand gels came on the market back in grade school. This was the era of going to Bath and Body Works every weekend to buy scented lotion and body wash. It seemed to me that over night antibacterial hand gels were everywhere. However, I'm guessing we were all just fine before that- I don't know about you, but I usually get a few colds per year regardless of whether I use hand sanitizer or not. Sometimes there's nothing better than a pure natural bar of soap.