http://www.physorg.com/news106418144.html

Yeah, I"m actually surprised it took this long for this study to be published. I figured this out back in the 1990s during a study. If you really want to be hard core, your cleasing wash needs to be laced w/ alcohol (which is like short for instant death for everything, ha ha). The whole antibacterial soap movement is like the biggest scam ever. Not only does triclosan (the more common antibacterial agent found) a pretty weak antibiotic, the more we use it the more likely resistant strains of bacteria are to develop. and unless you"ve been living under a rock, resistant strains of bacteria is not a good thing.

Especially because antibiotics are generally derivatives of the same family. but once a bacterium is resistant, it"s probability of survival goes up w/ the rest of the family, and the longer time the bacterium has to be in the harsh environment the more chances it has to develop or activate genes that are designed to deal with drug.

Companies have to realize that with bacteria/microorganisms "evolve" more readily than larger species. Things like antibiotics should only be used as a need to basis.

with dr aying forever that antobiotics should be used as a last resort, it only takes a child of 10 to realise antibacterial soap isn.t a good thing. i.ve never used antiB products not even for mychildren just because of that. i think it should be illegal to add such things to products.

Good timing. My girlfriend and I were having a conversation on antibacterial vs regular soap a week or so ago.

Here's a question I'd like to have answered: If a good washing with soap and water simply removes the need for additional agents because, for common purposes anyway (e.g. surgery would be an exception :> ), the bacteria and such are no longer on your hands? With antibacterial agents aren't 99.9% of the bacteria being killed already on their way down the drain? In that case, again for e.g. the purposes of washing up to make a sandwich, what advantage can an antibacterial soap ever have?

Everyone should appreciate that frequent washing with soap and water is the absolute best protective measure. Using alcohol-based hand sanitizers as a secondary option (when washing wasn't convenient) made sense, despite the noxious side effects of dry/irritated skin with prolonged use, not to mention the nationwide reports of child-related alcohol poisoning directly attributable to alcohol-based hand sanitizers.

But until recently, there were no alcohol-free products that provided the same germ/virus killing efficacy as the Purell's and GermX's.

Thanks to a few smart entrepreneurs, consumers and institutional users are now benefiting from the introduction of alcohol-free products, including a product imported from Canada called Soapopular (www.soapopular.com) The active ingredient is Benzalkonium chloride, a primary ingredient to a long list of medical products, including contact lense solution, nasal spray, and even a variety of women's hygiene products (BAK is a spermicide)
BAK is widely accepted, its FDA-approved, and meets all of the most stringent guidelines in Canada. In fact, prolonged use actually increases the protection, with no adverse side-effects.
Here in the US--a number of merchandisers are just learning about this, and can be expected to migrate to alcohol-free, kid safe over the course of the next year or two. Purell might be the elephant--but there's a swarm of flies that are going to bring this elephant to its knees--hopefully.

The active ingredient in many "antibacterial soaps' are equally noxious--stick to hand washing with simple soaps, and if you can't wash, use an alcohol-free sanitizer.

Regular soap IS anti-bacterial. It will not only disrupt the protein-protein interactions that allow bacteria to stick to your hands, but will compromise their cell walls. In both events life is not so easy for the bacterium anymore.

In the case of surgery, epionx111 is right. A good rinse w/ some 70% ethanol will kill, not hinder, the bacteria.

70% alcohol (ethanol) requires about 15 minutes contact time to actually kill all the bacteria on any surface. Generally you need to soak something in the alcohol 15-30 minutes to disinfect it. You can find the evidence for this through Google, it is discussed in many places.

I thought the mist disturbing thing about the article was that it so carefully steered around the idea of evolution as to be completely stupid. It makes it seem like the stuff gets into the cell wall, telepathically inducing mutations in to the DNA that made for the pathways it disrupts, then even though this cell dies... manages to reproduce and pass these magical mutations on.

Roughly this article suggests that the universe uses Lamarckian evolution. Why undermine science on a science site? Also, creationists typically say that microevolution is real, and macroevolution is a vicious lie intended to destroy God! Or rather, you can walk 10 feet with these 'steps' but never ten miles.

The action of washing is the real instrument here. Even if you use cold water (that is right mom). The actual washing itself is what causes the bacteria to get off of your hand, all that bonding-gone! In fact, persons who use antibacterial soaps may feel inclined to wash for a shorter period of time than if they use "regular" soap, because it is "medicinal". These products are horrible for people and don't forget what they do to our water reserves. As a physician I see resistance daily and it is a shame. When there have to be signs in the bathrooms of public buildings reminding employees that they must wash their hands before returning to work, it is shameful. I carry gloves in my pockets all the time. People are not being taught basic rules of hygiene and sanitation for various reasons. Just get your hands under the water (warm is nice) and start washing-fronts, backs, and in between the fingers. 20 seconds of this motion with a little regular soap will kill 99% of the germs. Do this for 10 minutes and you are ready to operate! Happy washing!!!