Soap ?

[Megin]

May seem an odd question, but have been told contradicting stories by 2 different docs

Since the medical world can not agree, it is up to this household to decide which soap to use (yes, sounds a moot subject, but a family member basically has no immune system right now and we all must be kept as germ free as possible)

Without getting into the reasoning as to why it is imperative to have the right soap .. here is the question:
Regular soap vs. Antibacterial soap ?

Antibacterial soap - was told that this is the kind to use as it .. well, kills the bacteria. And bacteria has the ability to make one sick

Than, when confirming with doc #2 - was told NOT to use antibacterial soap .. being ANTI bacterial, it kills the GOOD bacteria as well. Since GOOD bacterial is already fairly low, using anti bacterial soap will have negative effects


Any thoughts?

[Amanda76]

When in doubt, ask for the advice of internet docs. Just up front, I don't know...but this is my thought process:

I'm more anti-antibacterial soap than pro-antibacterial soap unless your in a kinda controlled environment (like a hospital). Keep the words "survival of the fittest" in mind as you read this and keep in mind that the most fit bacteria may not be the good ones.

http://www.webmd.com/news/20080529/s...bacterial-soap

It seems like if it was important that a person be in a totally sterile, controlled environment they'd keep them in a hospital? (again, just a thought)

Maybe you should ask whether you're still in the process of killing something off or building the immune system back up. And ask about the use of probiotics at this point (I've had a few docs suggest probiotics while taking extra vitamin C and zinc to prevent infection).

[Miranda]

Originally Posted by Amanda76

It seems like if it was important that a person be in a totally sterile, controlled environment they'd keep them in a hospital?

i thought hospitals were full of the vilest, most resistent bacteria due to the concentration of infected people and higher hygiene standards. survival of the fittest.

[Megin]

Originally Posted by Amanda76

It seems like if it was important that a person be in a totally sterile, controlled environment they'd keep them in a hospital? (again, just a thought)

Originally Posted by Miranda

i thought hospitals were full of the vilest, most resistent bacteria due to the concentration of infected people and higher hygiene standards. survival of the fittest.

^^ Exactly why he is here and not at the hospital (plus .. I don't think they let one live at hospitals - so he is an outpatient)
And our house is basically a bubble right now - so it is really coming down to the soap .. seeing that hands have to be washed after touching everything


Thanks for the thoughts / ideas Amanda!

[GymMouse45]

I hate it when the doctors cannot agree. Maybe you should have both kinds. Use the regular soap for ordinary cleaning and the antibacterial when someone feels their hands are particularly dirty, like after preparing raw chicken or returning from a germ-laden environment (like a hospital).

[Mustrainhard]

May be using anti-antibacterial soap will allow him/her to gradually build up their immunity.

[Amanda76]

Originally Posted by Miranda

i thought hospitals were full of the vilest, most resistent bacteria due to the concentration of infected people and higher hygiene standards. survival of the fittest.

Well, exactly?

But if you're particularly susceptible and not well enough to be in the normal clean environment they send you home to, they do have extra precautions they can take in a hospital (tents with sterile air, etc)...precautions beyond antibacterial products meant for the home that haven't been proven to have much benefit but are suspected of causing larger issues. If the person was well enough not to be under constant supervision of a professional and is at a point where the issue is bringing the immune system back up and not killing something off (including good bacteria), antibacterial products really may not be the way to go.

I did think GymMouse made a good point about if you've been doing something that would make you unusually germy to take extra precautions. That's probably the best compromise between the doctors two viewpoints that you're going to get.

[CATRACCOM]

Here's another web md article about regular soap vs anti bacterial...
http://www.webmd.com/news/20070817/p...-antibacterial

I have way sensitive skin and I find my skin does best with a non-soap 'soap'.
If you find a 'soap' with the right ph, you won't be removing the acid mantel that protects your skin. I think that regular or anti-biotic soap strips the protective oils on the skin and don't let it do its job of protecting itself.
Here's my favorite...http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Plus-N.../dp/B00014EKJC
This one may help with an immune challenged person because the allantoin in it helps with cell turn over rate and healing.

I know I may sound like a crazy person with soap ...

You could use the "Happy Birthday" method of washing your hands...apparently singing it twice is the amount of time you're supposed to wash your hands for germ killing.

[DistinctChoice]

So...if anti-bav soap kills 99% of germs, are the 1% that survives stronger or weaker than the other 99% ?

Stronger.

Call it survival of the fittest if you must. These are the ones that reproduce to make more bacteria, and so the next generation is overall stronger than the previous one.

If immunity is an issue, which ones do you want to be fighting?

If you're playing this type of defense against bacterial intruders, what are you doing to play offense?

If your answer is "resting", which can also mean "waiting", that's like saying "nothing" if the immune system needs to be strengthened.

It's just like building and strengthening muscle - "waiting" will produce "nothing" without a proactive effort. Consider supplementation, etc.

Washing hands with regular soap will rinse off the same amount of bacteria from one's hands as anti-bac soap, which is the far majority of the bacteria on your hands (real scientific, I know). Most of what you're killing are the ones going down the sink drain anyway.

Go with the regular soap.

Still not convinced? Consider that the active ingredient in most anti-bac soaps, triclosan, was found to be ineffective against a number of bacteria strains, such as the ones from that elite 1% that survived the anti-bac soap, almost ten years ago. No doubt the bacteria have mutated moreso since then, but the same ingredient gets used to try and stop them.