A US review has found that washing one’s hands with an anti-bacterial soap was no more effective in preventing infectious illness than plain soap
Allison Aiello of the University of Michigan School of Public Health and colleagues found anti-bacterial soaps at formulations sold to the public do not remove any more bacteria from the hands during washing than plain soaps.
The study, published in the Clinical Infectious Diseases, said anti-bacterial soap that contains the active ingredient triclosan may cause some bacteria to become resistant to commonly used drugs such as amoxicillin.
The study said that this antibiotic resistance has not been detected at the population level, but E. coli bacteria adapted in lab experiments showed resistance when exposed to anti-bacterial soap containing triclosan.