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At this very moment, microbes are migrating across your kitchen countertops and kids’ toys, burrowing into your towels, basking on your kids’ skin. If this makes you want to lunge for the Lysol, you are not alone.

Manufacturers of antibacterial products prey on parents’ fears and they’ve been remarkably successful. A substantial 76 percent of all liquid soaps and 29 percent of bar soaps now contain bacteria-killing chemicals, such as triclosan. Antibacterial agents have also been added to lotions, cutting boards, toys, toothbrushes, toothpastes, even socks and underwear.

The Label Says . . .

Reading labels can be more confusing than clarifying. Antibacterial products target only bacteria. Antimicrobial, however, is a catch-all term for products that kill or inhibit microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, molds) that cause disease, food spoilage or deterioration of fibers, depending upon the chemicals used. Disinfectants, are antimicrobial cleaners used specifically against disease-causing microbes. They may contain powerful, even toxic, active ingredients that should be kept away from skin. Antiseptic products are disinfectants, such as hydrogen peroxide, that can be used on the skin, usually on wounds.

Marketers may confuse matters by using these terms interchangeably, implying that household antimicrobial products, like sponges impregnated with triclosan, will prevent disease. In reality, many of the 5,000 EPA-registered antimicrobial products sold don't actually kill infectious bacteria. Often, these products restrain growth of algae, odor-causing bacteria, bacteria which cause spoilage or deterioration, and microorganisms infectious only to animals.

Living With Microbes

In truth, most of the microbes on and around us are harmless and many are even beneficial¹. Bacteria naturally inhabit our skin, digestive tract, the soil, and our homes, helping to maintain a balance in both our internal and external environments.

There’s even mounting evidence that exposure to bacteria might be a good thing. According to the "hygiene hypothesis," bacterial assaults help children’s immune systems to develop. Studies have shown that inner city children, and children without older siblings, are more likely to develop allergies, asthma and autoimmune disorders because their immune systems are less regularly stimulated².

In any case, for the average home, antibacterial and disinfecting products are chemical overkill. Most of the time, soap and water are all that’s needed to get rid of germs. Besides, disinfectants will protect your family only temporarily, because it doesn’t take long for germs to return.

Handing It to Germs

While keeping a clean house will help prevent the spread of infectious disease, changing our behavior is more likely to reduce our chances of getting sick. Most germs find their way into the body via the hands. Touching our eyes or mouth with our hands, which we do frequently and often unconsciously, enables germs to enter our bodies. Children are especially vulnerable, because they have few qualms about sucking on dirty fingers.

Ironically, this behavior, which drives so many parents toward antibacterial products, also exposes children to chemicals whose long-term health risks are unclear. Antibacterial products can leave a lingering residue on skin and home surfaces.

The best defense against infection, according to most experts, is simple hand washing with plain soap and water. The physical act of washing removes all kinds of microorganisms, including the viruses that cause colds and the flu, which aren’t even destroyed by antibacterial agents. Scrubbing with any type of soap helps loosen germs and dirt, which then are washed down the drain with a good rinsing.

When you can’t wash your hands, because there’s no water available, there are alcohol-based hand sanitizers like Purell. If you’re halfway up a mountain and need to change a diaper trailside, you’ll be glad to have some. But they dry out the skin, and cracked skin is an invitation to bacteria. One advantage of these products is that they don’t leave any potentially harmful chemical residues on the skin.

Germ-Fighting Furniture?

As for those antibacterial toys, toilet seats, and other home products, save your money. These items discourage odor and mildew from developing on the product, but they do little to protect you and your family from illness-causing bacteria and viruses.

The EPA and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have, in fact, reprimanded and fined several manufacturers of antibacterial products for implying that their products can kill bacteria.

The widespread use of antibacterial home products could actually do more harm than good by encouraging bacteria to develop and spread resistance. According to the US Centers for Disease Control, “Antibiotics are critical to the treatment of bacterial infections. However, after years of overuse and misuse of these drugs, bacteria have developed antibiotic resistance, which has become a global health crisis. The relatively recent increase of surface antibacterial agents or biocides into healthy households may contribute to the resistance problem.”

Chemical Dangers in Disinfectants

There’s no doubt that disinfecting cleaners can help keep bacteria, viruses and fungi in check. But the strong ingredients of some may pose health risks, especially to children. The more than 275 different active ingredients in antimicrobial products are classified by EPA as pesticides, because they kill microbes. Some, such as phenol, are toxic and corrosive. Cresol, a suspected carcinogen, can cause abdominal pain, vomiting and bloody diarrhea, if ingested, and even respiratory, circulatory or cardiac failure, in large doses. Oxalic acid, a disinfectant used in toilet bowl cleaners, may irritate the eyes and skin and can damage the respiratory and nervous systems and the kidneys. One of the most heavily relied upon antibacterial agents, Triclosan, was recently found to trigger production of a probable carcinogen chloroform in an amount 40 percent higher than the background level in tap water treated with chlorine.

Because of potential health risks, antibacterial agents and disinfectants should be reserved for hospitals and home care of patients with suppressed immune systems, according to Dr. Elaine Larson of the Columbia University School of Nursing in the March-April 2001 issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

For the rest of us, the best protection against potentially harmful bacteria is simple: Wash your hands, frequently and well, with ordinary soap, and teach your kids to do the same. Germs can’t leap directly from surfaces into your eyes and mouth; they rely upon your hands for a ride.

Additional Resources:
Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (APUA)

¹National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Microbes in Sickness and in Health. http://www.niaid.nih.gov/publications/microbes.htm. 2002.

²Liu AH, Murphy JR. Hygiene hypothesis: fact or fiction? The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2003 Mar; 111(3):471-8.

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