hand washing

[xmdslatx]

I've heard that too much hand washing is bad and so is using anti bacterial soap.

Does anyone know why? I want to be prepared for sv* season.

[tessa17]

too much handwashing by itself will dry your skin out and make it crack, which can give other types of illnesses access to your body.

not sure about soaps.

[harmonygirl72]

I think anti-bacterial soaps can be bad because they kill good bacteria as well and make us more resistant to antibiotics when we really need them for bad infections. Something like that...

[centipede]

It depends what you consider to be too much hand washing. At the minimum, you should wash your hands with soap for 20 seconds after using the bathroom and prior to eating.

Anti-bacterials should only be used if you don't have access to soap and water.

[jkl81]

Well it seems almost all soaps, at least liquid soaps, are antibacterial these days. Its kind of excessive and probably is artificial natural selection for more aggressive, resistant bacteria.

[xmdslatx]

What if there isn't any soap in the bathroom? could you still wash the germs off if you vigorously wash for like..30 seconds or so?

[mike18492]

It is "bad" cause your body can't learn defenses. I don't really care...I have a giant bottle of GremX or something. Again the point is that if you try and kill off everything, then your body won't defend itself when bad things enter it. It's a good point and true, but I'm just trying to find the happy "in between"

[mxw08]

Anitbacterial soap is "bad" because it stimulates the evolution of "super bugs."

And yeah, too much hand washing can be bad because it dries out your skin, which then cracks, which are then just an entry for bacteria. I just moisturize after washing whenever possible, and do just fine.

[prncesspnk]

What if there isn't any soap in the bathroom?

i always carry sanitizer just in case!!

[madisonsmom]

I wash my hands a lot... I am a nurse. At home I do not use antibacterial anything. Its effective against bacteria only anyway. I use regular MOISTURIZING hand soap at home.

At work we have antimicrobial hand soap so its effective against a broad spectrum of bugs.

I just be sure that when I do wash my hands, especially at work, I wash for a 20 seconds. I try to get my nails and everything clean. I did an in service class at work and I told them to sing their ABC's or sing the whole happy birthday song while washing their hands. That is roughly 20 seconds. Rinsing thoroughly and drying thoroughly is just as important too. I never touch the sink or door handles... I use a clean paper towel.

Im a pro at handwashing [img]smileys/smilies_04.gif[/img]

[xmdslatx]

At work we have antimicrobial hand soap so its effective against a broad spectrum of bugs.
I never touch the sink or door handles... I use a clean paper towel.

I always keep a paper towel in the bathroom so I can touch the door handles and faucets lol.

Is there any way to buy antimicrobial hand soap???

[sage]

If you're asking this question because you fear viruses that might make you vomit, then there's no point in having antibacterial or antimicrobial soap. "Stomach flus" are VIRUSES, not bacteria. PLAIN soap and water is best- wash thoroughly for 20 seconds including wrists, in-between fingers, nails if possible. And you'll be fine.

Antibacterial soaps ruin the environment and lead to superbugs (super-bacteria) that no one will be able to cure. They don't help you one bit in preventing stomach-flu-like-bugs.

[shootingstar]

I'm not up with all the soaps & myself have been using an antibacterial soap because I thought that was the best one to use to get rid of everything on your hands..

I have had extremely dry & cracked hands because I can't stop washing them.

I went to the chemist today to see what the pharmacist thought ( if it was from over washing or dermatitis )

He said that it's pretty much all the same treatment for any dry skin anyway & gave me a sensitive skin body wash suitable for dry, itchy skin & eczema.

It is pH6 Balanced
perfume free
lanolin free
colour free

I did ask him that seeing it is a body wash if it would be ok to wash my hands but I didn't explain the reason why I am washing my hands all the time & I'm worried that they wont be clean properly???

It doesn't mention anything about soap on the bottle, so is this still ok to use to remove germs???

Just need a little help on this topic!![img]smileys/smilies_12.gif[/img]
I might need a lesson on different types of soaps [img]smileys/smilies_01.gif[/img]

Also just wondering how antibacterial soap leads to superbugs?

Thanks for any help

[madisonsmom]

If you're asking this question because you fear viruses that might make you vomit, then there's no point in having antibacterial or antimicrobial soap. "Stomach flus" are VIRUSES, not bacteria. PLAIN soap and water is best- wash thoroughly for 20 seconds including wrists, in-between fingers, nails if possible. And you'll be fine.

Antibacterial soaps ruin the environment and lead to superbugs (super-bacteria) that no one will be able to cure. They don't help you one bit in preventing stomach-flu-like-bugs.

Yes they are bad... but that's all our health care facility provides us.

I am against the use of the anti soaps... especially in the home.

I deal with a lot of bacteria and viruses at work. One thing that has been proven is good handwashing (and with regular old fashioned hand soap) is the best prevention against germs. Both bacterial and viral.

Remember this too: Your skin is your first line of defense, so it is important to keep it as healthy as possible. Too much hand washing (especially with the "anti" soaps AND harsh hand sanitizers) breaks that important barrier! [img]smileys/smilies_01.gif[/img]Germs have been around since the beginning of time and will continue to be around. They will just keep adapting to the environment in which we live!

I just get a good moisturizing hand soap and use a good moisturizing dish soap at home. I do have hand sanitizer in my car in case I can't wash my hands. But they do not kill viruses. They kill 99% of bacteria. Edited by: madisonsmom

[madisonsmom]

health care officials are actually questioning the ingredient Triclosan now... saying that it is contributing to 'superbugs'! (like MRSA)

I personally think its more of a marketing scheme than anything.

There are many studies out now that say that antibacterial soaps do not kill any more germs than regular soap. I would just google the subject. There are tons of articles out there.Edited by: madisonsmom

[sage]

Antibacterial soaps are appropriate for use in hospitals, madisonsmom...just not at home.

kylee - the more antibacterial soap people use and expose to bacteria, the more the bacteria learns to mutate itself and adapt to the soap. Then "superbugs" come into being - that cannot be killed by anything. On a larger scale the same thing has happened with head lice - HUGE mother-ass life forms, compared to bacteria. But KWELL used to kill them, as did other chemicals and even tea-tree oil. Not so anymore. For sure, nothing kills their eggs and you now have to go back to the "old days" and nit-pick every single one of them out of your kid's hair. In the 80s we could wash our kids' hair once with kwell and presto...every louse and nit was gone. But they got to be "superbugs" so now...you can kill most of them but not all and others you can set back a spell with some chemicals but not completely.

Anyway...that's a rather amateurish explanation but antibacterial soaps are bad in general. Eventually I believe they will be banned.

[shootingstar]

Oh thankyou both very much..I now have a better understanding & won't be afraid of using just plain soap.

Ha Sage that's a great way of explaining..I knew what you meant straight away! [img]smileys/smilies_04.gif[/img]