Soap and water beat sanitisers hands down

Hyderabad: Triclosan-containing products just do not provide protection against disease and the good-old hand wash with soap is enough, says research conducted across the world. While the debate on whether antibacterial agents like tricolsan and triclocarban kill bacteria has been raging for years, it has been laid to rest with the announcement by the US Food and Drug Administration last week to prohibit the sale of non-medical soap containing triclosan and other ingredients in September 2017.

Dr Hari Kishan Boorugu, consultant physician, Apollo Hospital, says, “US FDA has asked for more data from companies marketing these products on efficacy and safety. Many sanitisers especially the ones containing Triclosan (liquid soap) and Triclocarban (bar soap) have not been found to be more effective than hand cleansing with soap and water.” Senior Dr K Narasimhulu of Gandhi Hospital said that water can remove any bacteria as soap is alkali. Certain bacteria that is killed by antimicrobial agents remain on the skin but now when washed with water and soap.

Research has shown that prolonged use can also harm the immune system. Dr Arvind, a private practitioner who has been advocating the use of hand wash with water and soap says, “It has been proved that trioclosan does not protect against viruses or fungi. Washing hands for a minimum of 22 seconds with soap is good enough.” Alcohol-based sanitisers are fairly effective but they cannot kill all viruses. Prolonged use can cause dry skin.

V Amareshwar, organiser of hand wash campaigns in Ranga Reddy district who is with the NGO Mahita says, “In the last one year, we covered 16 schools in Bantaram mandal and sensitised over 2,000 students on washing hands with soap and water. We are now tabulating data on how effective it has been by comparing with schools that were not covered. Initial reports say that the percentage of children falling sick has considerably come down.”

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 8 lakh children die every year due to diarrhea under the age of 5. And it goes on to advocate that no fancy liquid is needed and a simple hand wash can save millions. “If awareness is spread in the hundreds of slums and schools, the diarrhea cases would come down by more than 50 per cent. The need of the hour is to spread the message,” says Dr Narasimhulu.