Anti-Bacterial Hand Cleaner
Is anti-bacterial hand cleaner better than regular hand cleaner?
The term "anti-bacterial" is ubiquitous these days. About three-quarters of liquid soaps currently marketed in the United States display that label, and their numbers grow daily. So are we cleaner and safer now than before? Perhaps not.
Most liquid hand cleaners in America are now anti-bacterial.
First let's examine how hand cleaner works at a chemical level. To make soap, you need to mix a base (or alkali) and an acid. The base is sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and the acid is fat (fatty acids and triglycerides). The combination forces the fatty acids to separate from the triglycerides and fuse with the hydroxide ions, forming a salt that we call "soap." Soap has two main functions:
- Decrease water's surface tension
- Bind to dirt, oil and bacteria
It can do these things because one part of the hand cleaner molecule is hydro-philic (water-binding) and the other is hydro-phobic (water-repellent). The hydrophilic part allows the hydrophobic fatty acids to come into contact with other hydrophobic substances, such as the dirt on the surface that is being cleaned. When the dirt binds to the soap's fatty acids, it becomes suspended in each droplet of water. Dirt, oil, grease and bacteria are easily scrubbed off and washed away in this state. So ordinary hand cleaner does get rid of bacteria. But does antibacterial soap get rid of even more?
Perhaps. But there are several main points to consider in the rush to get on the anti-bacterial train:- The active anti-bacterial ingredients in most hand cleaners - usually triclosan or triclocarbon - are only truly effective if they remain on the skin for two minutes or more. Most consumers will rinse before they have a chance to even work.
- Bacteria may develop a resistance to anti-bacterial ingredients over a period of time.
- Some bacteria are beneficial. The normal bacteria that live on our bodies not only eat our sweat, but also help defend us against truly harmful, invasive bacteria.
- Many common diseases, like the common cold, are viral in nature, anyway, and are therefore not prevented by antibacterial products.
- The bactericidal residue of these products remains on surfaces, eliminating many of the otherwise harmless, or even beneficial, germs that are usually all around us. Children need exposure to these organisms to stimulate their immune systems.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), anti-bacterial hand cleaners are not necessary, but washing your hands thoroughly with ordinary soap and warm water is one of the most effective ways to ward off infection.