By Alice Park, Time, Sept 17, 2015 – If you’re bothering to wash your hands regularly—and you should—you’re probably using antibacterials, many of which contain triclosan, an effective bacteria-, virus- and fungus-fighting agent. But concerns over the health consequences of too much exposure to triclosan—it can breed resistant bacterial strains, disrupt hormones and possibly contribute to some cancers — compelled the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2013 to require manufacturers to prove that antibacterial soaps are safe to use and more effective than traditional soaps.
What researchers found, as they detailed in an report published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, was that the antibacterial formulas did not kill any more bacteria than traditional soap and water for any of the strains even after 20 seconds, which is the length of time that the World Health Organization recommends for hand washing.
