 Triclosan a common ingredient in antibacterial soaps enters our blood stream and accumulates in human tissue. It is healthier and safer to wash the germs away with good old scrub of plain soap and water.
Yes being clean and hand washing is important.We should all practice good hygiene, after using the toilet, before we eat, if in contact with sick people and animals, but do we really need these mega germ killing alcohol based gels and anti-bacterial hand washes?
Open a magazine, turn on the TV and you will be bombarded with clever scare tactic advertisements selling things like sensor no-touch disinfecting hand wash, with slogans like ‘Do you know what germs are lurking on your soap bottle?’ Really, do we need to worry about the outside soap containers in our own homes? After all aren’t we using the soap INSIDE the container and then washing our hands clean under running water?!
There are times when antibacterial products are important for use e.g. in hospitals and when unable to wash with soap and water etc. We have become a society, obsessed with these germ killing gels and soaps and frankly we are overusing them. It is not uncommon to find bottles of the stuff, placed strategically throughout family homes. Soap and water have been super seated by these germ killing gels, but is this wise choice?
Triclosan which is the main chemical, ingredient used in antibacterial products to kill germs, can also harm humans, as it accumulates in our bodies by entering our blood stream and storing in our fat cells. Triclosan also harms the general eco-system, as it ends up being washed down our drains and into our waterways , when we wash it off our hands.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/antibacterial-soap-dangers.html
Hand Gels and Commercial Anti-bacterial Soaps often are manufactured using a number of other questionable ingredients, the link below shows what ingredients are commonly used in Alcohol based Hand Gels and the health concerns linked to them.
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/product/331391/Avon_Healthy_Remedies_Antibacterial_Hand_Gel/
 What can we do?
- Use these gels only when you can’t get to clean water and plain natural liquid or bar soap. Hand washing is still the most effective way to clean hands, especially when visibly soiled.
- There are also now available, natural based, alcohol free, safer disinfecting sprays. Where possible it is advisable to choose these over the synthetic, highly fragranced, alcohol based products.
- Be selective about what we need to disinfect ourselves from. We all need to build up our immune system, especially young children. Some bacteria and dirt exposure is important.
- Don’t have alcohol gels lying around the house, as they are often scented and brightly coloured, they are very attractive to young children. There have been cases of alcohol related poisonings, after small children ingested these gels. Adults need to be responsible and monitor children closely when using these gels.
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Personal Care 
