FDA Bans Antibacterial Hand Soaps As They ‘Do More Harm Than Good’

Antibacterial hand soaps have been recently banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, seeing that these common household items contain certain chemicals that do not seem to have any beneficial effects, nor have they been shown to be safe.

The FDA has banned a number of chemical substances, such as triclosan, triclocarban, and 17 other active ingredients from being included in manufacturers' soaps. The agency has given companies a year to remove these components from their products.

According to The Guardian, these antibacterial soaps actually do more harm than good. While most companies claim that these antibacterial soap is essential in eliminating bacteria, a simple use of water and regular soap in hand washing can already be enough to eradicate the potential pathogens that cause infections in humans, and adding these antibiotic chemicals can cause a bacteria to become resistant after prolonged use.

Triclosan, one of the more common components of these antibiotic soaps, was first introduced as cleaning solutions for medical practitioners for surgery, and soon, soap companies have added the chemical to their hand soaps, with the claim that they can eliminate unwanted bacteria.

The use of triclosan in everyday items such as soap, toothpaste, baby pacifiers, and even fabrics have become so prevalent, that in a nationwide survey in 2003 of healthy individuals showed that the chemical was found in the urine sample in 75% of the 2,517 people tested. Triclosan was also found in breast milk as well as human plasma.

While there is no direct toxicity from triclosan, there are some studies that show that overexposure to the chemical can cause a hormonal imbalance in animals, but not in humans. Triclosan can also cause antibiotic-resistant bacteria to develop, and as the bacteria grow stronger, they will be able to resist the strongest of antibiotics.

According to NPR, the use of these chemicals have been phased out as early as 2013, but not all companies have followed suit. The entire list of the 19 banned substances from hand soaps is available on the NPR webpage.