This is part three of a three-part series on antibacterial soaps.
Part one: My Relationship with Soap
Part two: Food for Thought: Antibacterial Soap
What is Triclosan?
Triclosan is the chemical added to anti-bacterial soaps (or triclocarbon for bar soaps) with the aim of killing bacteria. It is non-discriminatory in that it won’t only kill the bacteria you’re mad at, but also any good bacteria you have hanging around your house (or inside your body). It is a specialized killer, however, in that its effectiveness lies in coaxing bacteria not to reproduce.
How does it harm?
Because of the handful of bacteria that manage to survive their encounter with triclosan, it contributes to what is commonly known as “bacterial resistance“, which basically means that the more we fight bacteria, the more the bacteria understand how we’re fighting them and the stronger they become. These bacteria are naturally selected to continue their gene pool, which will include (more and more) resistance to triclosan, and possibly other antibiotics, especially those that work in the same way, creating the “super-bugs” no one wants to come home with after touching a shopping cart handle. Every time you wash your hands/dishes/etc with a soap containing triclosan, you’re sending unknown amounts of the chemical into our collective ecosystem, and bacteria are learning to fight harder against us, the human race.
Triclosan’s other transgressions:
- Is a probable hormone disruptor
- Creates chloroform when mixed with chlorinated water. (Almost all city water is chlorinated, and washing your dishes is an ideal environment for you to inhale toxic chloroform: hot water, chlorine, and antibacterial soap containing triclosan.)
- Stays on hands up to 4 hours after washing – anyone want an appetizer that may damage your liver or disrupt thyroid function?
- Is not completely removed by wastewater treatment processes, so it ends up in both our lakes and drinking water. As a result, it has been found in human breastmilk, and its toxicity to aquatic life puts our lake and stream ecosystems in grave danger.
Government agencies that have spoken out against triclosan:
- AMA (American Medical Association) recommended no antibacterial soap for household use back in 2002!
- FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is conducting research on the topic.
- CDC (Center for Disease Control) recommends plain soap and water for handwashing.
- EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) also recommends simple soap and “good old-fashioned scrubbing”.
With all those letters of the alphabet weighing in on the topic, why haven’t you heard about the AMA’s and CDC’s recommendations on ABC, CBS, or CNN? It’s not good marketing. Bath and Body Works would be out of business…
Conscious Stewards must think about:
- Effectiveness: Triclosan must be left on a surface for 2 minutes in order to work properly. Who washes their hands that long? It’s killing bacteria everywhere but our hands instead.
- Limitations: Most diseases that we’re worried about catching are viral, anyway, and triclosan doesn’t touch viruses.
- Side Effects: Even the bacteria that we’re afraid of (E. coli is one example) are only getting stronger because of our overuse of triclosan.
Read my post on hand sanitizers here.
Some sources for further reading:
If you’re interested in more, this is the most comprehensive source, including recommendations to the EPA for banning triclosan: Environmental Working Group (EWG) article on triclosan
Find safe products for personal health at EWG’s Skin Deep database.
Sources for this article:
- http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol7no2/larson.htm
- http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/hand-hygiene-truths-myths-and-misinformation-10882.html
- http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/06/17/anti-bacterial-soap.aspx
I found this very interesting, considering the craze for gel hand sanitizers. I am a nurse and work in a hospital in the inpatient setting and we are constantly hearing that plain old soap is it when it comes to stopping these super bugs. And they truly are SUPER. Part of me wants to believe that without some sort of exposure to germs, however minute, our bodies would never build up the immunity (or resistance) to fight anything.
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These are some good posts… I’ve been an advocate of avoiding anti-bacterial stuff for a while, purely from a standpoint that if you don’t exercise your immune system… it’ll get weak! Of course I’ve been a bit hypocritical… I use antibacterial handsoap and body wash at home, gonna have to change that!
But I was wondering, do you know anything about the effects of Chloroxylenol in “antiseptic” handsoap? It’s chlorine based I’m assuming… so is it just as bad as Triclosan environmentally?
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Not only is it in soap here in the office… but I’d be willing to bet that it’s in soap in a lot of commercial, public, and industrial bathrooms! This is SoftSoap brand that comes in the bag-in-a-box that’s used in wall-dispensers, and it’s the orange-colored transparent stuff… which seems pretty prevalent.
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All Things Eco Blog Carnival Volume Fourty | Focus Organic.com // Mar 2, 2009 at 1:43 pm
[...] article gives us information about the Act, as well as some scary statistics. Katie presents 2nds of Food for Thought: The evil villain Triclosan posted at Kitchen Stewardship. Katie says, “An informational essay on triclosan, the nasty [...]
Excellent info. Thanks for explaining this!
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I’ve avoided anti-bacterial soaps for years. But last night I opened a tube of toothpaste last night, and just happened to glance at the active ingredient list on the box. . . . There is triclosan in my toothpaste – YIKES!!!! Time to get something new.
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It is scary that this information isn’t more widely understood. Hand sanitizers usually have an active ingredient of ethyl alcohol, which is different than triclosan. Because of some of the risks of frequent handwashing for medical personnel (for their own skin and their patients), alcohol-based sanitizers are recommended for doctors and nurses between patients, whereas antimicrobial soaps are suggested for pre-surgery and working with severely immuno-depressed individuals. See http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol7no2/larson.htm for more.
I’ll be posting on sanitizers specifically this spring — for now, just look out for that triclosan!
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I’d never heard of chloroxylenol, but here’s what I found:
The EPA says: “Chloroxylenol is an antimicrobial used to control bacteria, algae and
fungi in adhesives, emulsions, paints and wash tanks. It also is used to
sanitize bathroom premises, diaper pails, laundry equipment, human bedding
and pet living quarters in households, hospitals and other institutions.” It’s not toxic to birds, but extremely so to fish. source
No info on Dr. Mercola’s site or EWG, which I was surprised about.
The MDS Data Sheet says: “Hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant), of ingestion.
Slightly hazardous in case of skin contact (sensitizer), of inhalation.” This stuff is in soap you have? Yikes.
It sounds as though chloroxylenol works similarly to triclosan, but perhaps stronger (?) and very effective at killing ’streptococcus’ bacteria. This study showed no difference in effectiveness between lotion soap, antibacterial with triclosan and antibacterial with chloroxylenol.
Kitchen Stewardship says: Stick with what works. Wash your hands. Unless you’re going into surgery, just use soap. Question anything new and flashy, and if it sounds more potent than you need, it probably is!
Thanks for your comment! I learned something new today.
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