January 2015
Antibacterial
Soap Concerns
The active ingredient in antibacterial
soap, triclosan, has been added into
consumer products for more than
30 years in about 2,000 individual
products, per the CDC. The FDA first
proposed removing triclosan from
certain products in 1978 but because
no final action was taken, triclosan has
continuously been added to products.
Doctors have long been rallying for
people to stop using antibacterial soap
in order to prevent antibiotic resistance
but now there are more reasons to curb
its use. First, the FDA is cautioning
consumers about potential health risks
with tricolsan. The FDA is concerned
about several scientific studies with
animals showing that triclosan alters
hormone regulation. Secondly, triclosan
has also been linked to liver fibrosis by
researcher ́