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Antibacterial Soap: Bad for Frogs; Maybe Humans, Too

When you have young children at home, it’s natural to want to kill as many germs as possible, especially during cold and flu season. But researchers are finding more and more evidence that so-called anti-bacterial soaps are likely doing more harm than good.

Triclosan, the active agent in antibacterial soaps, has been shown to disrupt the development of frogs, according to a recently published study in the online journal Aquatic Toxicology. So why should humans care about that? Because frogs are a sentinel species, meaning that what causes them harm, most likely will wreak havoc with human development, as well.

What’s more, triclosan is simply not needed in our household soaps and products, experts say. Regular soap and water do a fine job of killing those nasty viruses that can wipe out your entire household at this time of year. Studies show there’s no advantage to using antibacterial soaps, and in fact, they likely cause a major disadvantage: They can cause the growth of substantially more aggressive bacteria.

They also add to pollution, since we are constantly washing them down our sinks and into our local waterways.

Triclosan has been shown to disrupt the human thyroid gland, which plays a role in development, body temperature and metabolism. Using the soaps won’t kill you, but using them repeatedly may well cause harm. And it certainly doesn’t do you any good.

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To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org