Why You Should Avoid Overusing Antibacterial Cleaning Products

Since the 1990s, the word "antibacterial" on product labels has been a positive selling point for anything designed to clean. From kitchen countertops to human faces, it seems that Americans want to make everything as germ-free as possible. And product developers have taken notice and acted accordingly, adding antibacterial agents to everything from all purpose cleaners to deodorant soaps.

It's true that bacteria and other microbes can be harmful and the judicious use of antibiotics is critical to the proper treatment of infections caused by germs. But overusing and misusing antibiotics and antibacterial cleaning products can cause more problems than it solves. According to an article distributed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and authored by Stuart B. Levy of Tufts University School of Medicine, the antibacterial products that used to be exclusively used in hospital settings have made their way into healthy households, where they are used to help protect healthy people from getting sick with infectious diseases. Trouble is, bacteria and other microbes don't just go away when they are carelessly bombarded with antibiotics. Instead, they can mutate into germs--superbugs-- that are able to resist ordinary antibiotic drugs.

People who work in the healthcare industry have seen firsthand how the overuse of antibiotics and antibacterial products have affected germ warfare in medical settings. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a type of infection that has been on the rise in hospitals, in part because the bacteria that causes MRSA has mutated to the point that renders ordinary antibiotics ineffective. A person can be in a hospital for an injury and end up getting sick from a nosocomial MRSA infection. That infection may be completely unrelated to the person's original reason for being in the hospital; yet it complicates things, possibly adding days to the hospital stay and extra dollars to the hospital bill.

A person doesn't have to be in a hospital to contract MRSA. "Community acquired" MRSA has also become a serious problem, particularly among people who spend time living or working in close quarters or institutional environments. According to the CDC, in 2007, 14 percent of people who had MRSA had the community acquired variety, which research has shown is significantly different than hospital acquired MRSA. According to Levy, "interesting laboratory findings suggest a link between this resistance in [community acquired] MRSA and the use of antibacterial products" (2000). In other words, overusing and misusing antibacterial products can make you sick and cause ordinary antibiotics to be ineffective against a community acquired MRSA infection. You may have to use different or more powerful antibiotics to get well, which is likely to cost more.

A product's lack of disinfectant power is often seen as a negative among consumers, many of whom think that germ fighting power is essential to promoting good health. The truth is, there has been no proof that products containing antibacterial agents such as triclosan have any positive effect on a person's health. In fact, using antibacterial products when you don't need to can upset the "good bacteria" balance in your body.

If you've ever taken antibiotics and gotten a yeast infection afterwards, you might already know about "good" and "bad" bacteria. We take antibiotics to kill off bad bacteria, but in the process we kill the good bacteria that keeps yeast in check. A similar phenomenon can also occur when we overuse antibacterial cleaning agents. Studies have shown that overusing antibacterial detergents "may negatively affect the normal maturation of the T helper cell response of the immune system to commensal flora antigens; this change could lead to a greater chance of allergies in children" (Levy, 2000).

If you are basically healthy and don't already have an infection, you should be just fine cleaning up with plain old soap and water. Antibacterial cleansers and detergents really should be reserved for their original purpose-- to protect vulnerable patients from opportunistic infections. The truth is, most bacteria is not harmful and can even be helpful. So do yourself and everyone else around you a favor and use the antibacterial products with extreme caution. Don't send in the antibiotic big guns when a less aggressive approach will do.

Sources

Better Health Channel "Antibacterial Cleaning Products" Retrieved from http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Antibacterial_cleaning_products?open

Levy, Stuart B. "Antibacterial Household Products: Cause for Concern" Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol7no3_supp/levy.htm

U.S. Food and Drug Association "Triclosan: What Consumers Should Know" Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm205999.htm

WebMD "Understanding MRSA Infection" Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/understanding-mrsa-methicillin-resistant-staphylococcus-aureus