Ask Almost-Doctor Dan: Handy Or Harmful?
Every once in a great while we’re given the opportunity to share something that could actually help the planet even if just one in ten people who read our blog put it into practice (like toting reusable shopping bags or collecting rainwater in a barrel). And this, my friends, is one of those times. Please feel free to pass this info on to your friends and family members!
And who do we have to thank for this wealth of information that just might change the world as we know it (or at least change your impact on the planet from this day forward)? Why none other than my über intelligent little brother Dan (also affectionately known as Almost-Doctor Dan):
Remember when we introduced him here (and revisited his giant brain here)? As a little refresher, he went to Cornell and graduated with the highest GPA of his entire graduating class (a 4.21 if you’re wondering). Yup, out of all of the kids in Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, he was the Valedictorian. Yeah, he’s brainy. Now he’s a graduate student at Columbia with a Master’s degree under his belt, steadily working his way up to his Doctorate in chemistry with a full scholarship from the National Science Foundation. Not only do they pay for his education but they actually pay him a stipend for rent and food- all in return for wearing a lab coat almost 24/7 and messing around with molecules and polymers all day. Sweet deal huh? Serious Einstein stuff going on.
Anyway, so on a recent phone convo we got to talking about the impending flu season and all the gross germs that seem to be swirling around more and more these days (thanks so about a million media stories on the subject) and Dan shared something so unbelievable that we just had to pass it on. In short, we learned that the idea of antibacterial soap is a marketing ploy that’s actually terrible for the environment. Here’s Almost-Doctor Dan to break things down for us:
What makes most “antibacterial soaps” antibacterial is a chlorinated aromatic compound called Triclosan. By itself this compound doesn’t appear toxic to humans, but every time you wash your hands this stuff is ending up in wastewater and eventually making its way into the environment. Think about how quickly you go through a bottle of hand soap and realize that every last drop of it ends up going down the drain. You’ve got millions of people across the country using this and it’s ending up in lakes, streams, oceans etc (where it’s not particularly biodegradable by the way).
If it were really keeping people from getting sick, perhaps an argument could be made that this is an acceptable consequence, but it really isn’t necessary! Bacteria and viruses can’t penetrate healthy, intact skin. The only way that pathogenic bacteria on your hands can make you sick is if you eat something or touch a mucous membrane (your eyes, nose, mouth, etc); up until that point they are basically harmless and loosely attached to your skin.
And to remove them from your skin before you eat or touch a mucous membrane, any soap that you use will not only dislodge bacteria from your hands but will likely kill it as well by disrupting its cell membranes. This is why the whole idea of an ‘antibacterial soap’ is just plain silly – any type of soap in and of itself will cleanse your hands of bacteria. Unless you work in an environment that requires truly sterile hands (a hospital for example) the use of these antibacterial soaps is a waste of money and resources as well as a bane to the environment.
Is that not the most interesting thing you’ve heard all day? Well, we thought it was, and we couldn’t believe that companies are slapping the old “antibacterial” claim on their bottles to encourage people to purchase them when in fact they’re doing the world more harm than good (and regular old soap and water does the same thing without the environmental harm!). By no means do we mean to be preachy, but we just had to pass this info along in the hopes that even a few other households might adopt an anti-antibacterial approach and keep tons of damaging pollutants from permeating lakes, rivers, and oceans over time (can you imagine how much of a difference this new approach could make if just ten people changed the type of soap that they purchase over the next ten years?).
We also got a letter from another Almost-Doctor (Kristin who’s currently getting her PhD in Germany) who actually works with bacteria on a day-to-day basis. Here’s what she has to say on the subject:
Bacteria, in general, live nearly everywhere. The vast majority is harmless, some are even beneficial. Even when you wash your hands with antibacterial/disinfectant soaps, the remaining bacteria grows back to their normal number within hours or a day. And as I mentioned, some bacteria are actually beneficial. For example, microbiologists who have to use antibacterial disinfectants on their hands several times a day often suffer from skin damage because the beneficial bacterial skin flora is destroyed (and skin damage can make you more susceptible to getting sick while healthy intact skin is usually impervious to germs).
When cleaning we should think of bacteria as a normal part of our environment, not as something that should be completely destroyed. It is impossible to get rid of bacteria completely, and there is no need to. Too much antibacterial disinfection in households can even become dangerous – the more disinfectants that we use, the higher the possibility is that strain of bacteria will become resistant. In addition, some scientists think a too clean environment facilitates allergies – your immune system has to be trained constantly.
Water with soap kills or washes off 99% of all bacteria. If you do not want to use too much soap, or any at all, you can even use a microfiber cloth with water only – the small fibers will collect most of the bacteria and the towel can be washed in hot water to naturally disinfect it afterwards (which destroys the microbes). These two methods of hand washing are completely sufficient for a normal household with healthy people.
So there you have it. Two insanely smart science-minded brainiacs on separate continents who agree on one thing: lose that antibacterial stuff and wash you hands thoroughly with good old fashioned soap and water to kill germs just as well and do a serious solid to Mother Nature while you’re at it. John and I are big fans of Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castille Soap (the almond scent is our favorite). It’s sold at Target among other places and it’s made with organic oils and even stored in a 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottle. Basically, if you’re looking to replace your antibacterial soap and want some extra credit, this stuff is about as pure as they come (it’s certified fair trade and plant-based so it won’t hurt lakes, streams, rivers and oceans in the least). And so ends our little soap diatribe. Here’s to our health this fall! And the planet’s health too.
Need more of a reference than two almost doctors? Check out what the Center For Disease Control has to say on the subject here and here (hint: they agree with our braniacs above).
Second photo courtesy of washinghands.net
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Comments
An excellent post. I avoid using the anti-bacterial soaps for the very reasons cited. When I wash my hands I sing the song “Happy Birthday” silently until finished then rinse the soap off.
As for the person who is admonishing you for saying children can get drunk off of hand sanitizer I recommend googling the terms “sanitizer ban prison”. yeah, inmates in various states and in britain have been drinking it to get drunk. It is banned in many institutions for that very reason.
Here is one such article citing the New England Journal of Medicine and drunk inmates.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2007/10/the-downside-of/
Love, love, love Dr. Bronner’s.
My boyfriend discovered it at a cool little boutique hotel in Austin – where they provided it as the in-room amenity kit!
Since that introduction we’ve switched to it for all our keeping-clean needs… chucking out Purell, SoftSoap, body wash, face wash & shaving foam.
I smell like marzipan & save a fortune. Score.
We even diluted some over the summer to kill aphids on our plants! (Worked like a charm).
How funny, I have never seen that soap in England until last night when I coincidentally bought some of the lavender one, and it smells great.
I pretty much agree with you but I do use hand sanitizer when I can’t wash my hands before I eat if I am out, or after travelling on the tube, where people sneeze and everyone has to hold on and you never know what germs you might pick up.
It’s not being washed off, so isn’t going going into the water system.
This is a very informative post — thanks for posting about it! I’m eager to see your recipes for natural cleaning products!
I am on board with all of that except for one case — my little phobia, salmonella. If I handle chicken or raw eggs, is regular soap enough for that as well? What say your almost doctors?
This is really interesting, thanks for posting it.
And COMPLETELY OT, but Almost-Doctor-Dan is a definite cutie!
Hey Allison K,
Good question! Both Almost-Doctor Dan and Almost-Doctor Kristin agree that even when handling food like raw chicken, good old regular soap and water is completely reliable when it comes to rinsing germs right off your hands. And the same goes for wiping down the counter (even super natural products that are 100% homemade like tea-tree oil have antibacterial properties without being damaging) so you can rest assured that there are actually eco cleansers have ingredients that sanitize extremely well, they’re just more natural instead of being man-made. In fact stay tuned for a step-by-step breakdown for whipping up some DIY cleansers that totally shine up the house without fumes or damaging chemicals. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
John and Sherry- I have really enjoyed this discussion, and it’s the only time I have ever been accused of something as interesting as fear-mongering:). I guess that is appropriate for Halloween, LOL. I should have qualified my previous comments with the fact that we use mostly water based hand sanitizers. We also have heard about the alcohol concerns from our city health department which licenses our son’s preschool. They don’t allow any hand sanitizers at all in preschools here if they want to be a licensed facility, so we all huddle in the school bathroom to wash hands as we sing Happy Birthday for a timer, LOL. Like Almost-Dr. Dan our little ones are using just soap and water. No illnesses yet-knock wood. Also, no flu for all of last year either in any of our 30 families.
Hey Amy Y,
Thanks so much for checking back in with us! It’s extremely interesting that your health department/city has banned hand sanitizers in all preschools that are licensed due to the alcohol concern! And so glad to hear that the plain old soap and water method is working like a charm for you and those 29 other families!
xo,
s
What a great post! I’m a firm believer that getting rid of all the bacteria can acutally cause a bit of harm. The 2 people that I know who religiously use the purell and lysol are the 2 people who wind up at the doctor or sick with something ALL THE TIME. I’ve tried to tell ‘em, you need some germs to build up your immunity!
Great posting guys!
Quick question. . . do you use Bronner’s straight in your handsoap dispensers? B/c from reading the bottle it seems like they recommend to dilute it for pretty much everything. I usually just put a tablespoon or two in my dispenser and add hot water. Yes it’s pretty liquidy (is that a word) when you squirt it, but it still has some suds. I have used this to clean dirty makeup sponges and it is amazing. Just a squirt or two and run it under water. . . without even scrubbing the old makeup is instantly gone (the sponge is completely white again). Just shows you how powerful Bronner’s is. . .even diluted.
Hey Torey,
We do use our Dr. Bronner’s right from the soap dispensers (although we sometimes add some water when we refill them to stretch our soap even further since it’s recommended on the bottle). We find that sometimes the dispensers can clog a bit (as also mentioned on the bottle) so we use the end of a paper clip to poke the end of the dispenser and get the flow going again on about a weekly basis (whenever we’re doing other bathroom maintenance). It’s certainly a little extra step, but it’s one that we don’t mind because it only takes a second and keeps our favorite soap coming. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Wow, so many voices weighing in! I’m glad we’re not the only ones to sing “Happy Birthday” when hand washing. :)
A question for everyone: Do you take off your rings when you wash your hands? I do, except when I’m in a public bathroom.
I’m very much looking forward to your DIY cleaning post, I’ve been wondering lately what’s the safest, most effective “all-purpose” type cleanser out there. I’d also love to know what type of pesticides almost-dr.dan would recommend. I have an herb garden that’s constantly attracting fruit flies and the like, and I’m loathe to spray anything that might be toxic on them (especially since they’re in the house!).
Hey Kelly,
Glad you’re looking forward to our DIY cleaning post! And as for the pesticide question, Almost-Doctor Dan, like most brainiacs, refuses to weigh in on things without proper research and a thorough understanding of the subject so because he hasn’t formally studied pesticides he doesn’t have any genius facts to share. Maybe there are some natural remedies you can google (like using a mild soap like Dr. Bronners on the leaves so it doesn’t hurt the plants but gets rid of the pests?). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
To the people freaking out over Almost-Doctor Dan not being qualified to give advice–
My dad -is- a health care provider (optometrist, specifically) and he has mandated that no antibacterial be used in the office. He washes his thoroughly with soap and hot water before every patient. It works just fine and he doesn’t have to feel guilty about harming the environment or breeding drug-resistant bacteria.
Hey Seraph,
I think it was only one person who mentioned that they questioned Almost-Doctor Dan’s certifications (just to be clear, I don’t want Almost-Doctor Dan feeling ganged up on- especially when he’s seriously the genius of our day!). And it appears that now that we’ve had a slew of Actual-Doctors weighing in and agreeing with him (see Melanie and Cici’s comments – who are speaking for full fledged doctors) we’re happy that he’s in good fully-qualified company! Thanks so much for adding an optometrist to the list of anti-antibacterial advocates!
xo,
Sherry
Thank you for this very informative and thought-provoking post. I am certainly reconsidering my use of anti-bacterial now!
Perhaps another area to consider seeking Almost-Doctor Dan’s insight on is the alleged ecological damage from the the birth control pill.
The moral question over the use of birth control certainly generates much disagreement, but the potential damage it is inflicting on our environment should cause all of us to pause.
Nope-you are not the only ones! I sing Happy Birthday too :) as do our kids! LOL. I agree about all of this and just love your post. Awesome. I especially love how you talked about the good bacteria! I don’t think that some people know or understand that just as we have the bad ones, we have good ones too…that we really need! Our family takes Vidazorb chewable probiotics after they helped our son’s food allergies and Eczema so much. Now we all take them and love them for so many reasons. I am making sure that we get them every single day to keep our beneficial bacteria in tip-top shape for this flu season!
Thank you so much for the post and I’ve gotta tell you I was one of those girls that swore if it didn’t smell like bleach and get your head swimming, then it didn’t really work. But after some research I found that I didn’t have to go through the headaches and dizziness all for the sake of cleanliness..natural is better on all levels..health, cleanliness, environment, what’s not to love?
Thank you so much for this post! People think I’m crazy when I share the same news ;)
If you’re cool with supporting another small business, I wanted to throw it out that my husband’s store (www.thegreenlifeco.) not only carries Bronners (peppermint is my favorite: http://www.thegreenlifecostore.com/m8_view_item.html?m8:item=977), but a ton of other hardworking, delicious-smelling soaps! :)
Psst – if you have visitors (or busy-body relatives) who make a stink about needing antibacterial handsoap or dishwashing liquid, you can simply use your natural liquid soap to refill the old containers (marked as anti-bacterial) if you have any. Sneaky, I know, but sometimes it’s easier than trying to argue stubborn people. It may be helpful to the mom with the visiting home nurse too. ;)
Love love love this post! Thank you! You wrote it so eloquently too! I was just talking about this recently with my friend who is a school teacher. Thank you!
Thanks for posting this. It makes me crazy to see people use antibacterial stuff everywhere. The overuse of such products is far riskier that good old soap and water and good hand-washing techniques. American germophobia is really out of control.
I can personally say, having once worked as a surgical tech, that washing your hands with antibacterial soap will cause skin damage and breaks in your skin which lead to pathogens entering your body. Before working in a hospital I had been on antibiotics twice in my life (I was 22 at the time) and by the time I quit three years later I had been put on antibiotics at least ten time. Once I stopped washing my hands frequently with antibacteial soap I stopped getting sick. It is a complete marketing ploy on a society that is given false information on the spread of pathogens. Simple soap and water work just fine.
Great info, guys. I need to recheck our handsoaps and make sure we’re using the “good stuff”.
Wow. I’m a nurse and I’m required to wash my hands ALL THE TIME. We all use Purell hand sanitizer because of the time it saves. I probably use it a hundred times a day. Apparently the hospitals don’t know about the harm it can cause? I’m really not sure what to do because I don’t know how I can wash my hands with regular soap and hot water as often as I need to.
Hey Kathleen,
Fear not, Doctor-Almost Dan actually doesn’t think hand sanitizers like Purell are bad (in fact more diligent antibacterial methods might be necessary in a medical setting as he mentioned in the post above) here’s his take on that subject:
I don’t know a lot about hand sanitizers like Purell, but they seem to fall in the category of ‘probably unnecessary’ but not that bad. Again a lot of people have this idea that bacteria on their hands is some terrible thing – as long as you’re not putting your hands in your mouth/eyes/nose it really doesn’t matter (and even if you are, most bacteria is not damaging in any way). Depending on what they have in them they might dry out your skin (which can open you up to a bacterial invasion as opposed to supple healthy skin which is impervious to the stuff) but since you’re not actually washing anything off of your hands it’s unlikely to hurt the environment.
Washing your hands with soap and water whenever you can (and using things like Purell on the go when you’re at work) might be the perfect way to stay healthy and germ free. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Thanks for spreading the word about this guys – lots of interesting comments! It’s too bad that so many people fall for the marketing of these products, when they’re actually unnecessary and harmful to the environment. Personally, I’ve been using Method liquid handwashing soap, as well as handmade soaps from a local craft fair, and both work just fine.
I just thought I’d chime in about the hand sanitizer issue – I had never used it, but we bought some last year for a backpacking trip. I guess it comes in handy in situations where you’re not able to wash your hands, but the 59 mL bottle I bought over a year ago is stil 95% full…and I haven’t been sick once. Also, interestingly enough, I heard something on the radio this morning about a young child who got alcohol poisoning from hand sanitizer, and now her mother is trying to warn other parents and schools about the potential risk…
Anyways, great work! Love your blog!
This is a great post! Question to you guys though – it seems that you are environmentally minded, but clearly, you are also budget minded. How do you balance these two? I noticed that you use products that would not be particularly environmentally friendly (spray paint, spray adhesive, polyurethhane, low VOC-paints rather than VOC free paints,) in repurposing efforts. Do you ever consider non-toxic alternatives, even if they might be more costly?
Good question! We’ve switched over to no VOC paint when it comes to the crisp white trim throughout our house and any future furniture painting projects (we love Home Depot’s line of No VOC paint called FreshAire) since we wouldn’t repaint perfectly good rooms just to use no VOC paint but will touch up the trim fairly frequently and paint random pieces of thrift store furniture quite often so it pays to have some white semi-gloss no VOC paint laying around for those purposes. Of course we would love to do even more when it comes to cutting down the toxins in our home so stay tuned as we explore newer options for everything from non-toxic spray paint to all natural glues and poly. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Love the Dr. Bronner’s soap. Have you seen the documentary about him? Apparently he escaped from a mental asylum and created this amazing soap recipe! The film is called “Dr. Bronner’s Magical Soapbox” and was really interesting.
Also wanted to thank you for the tip (which you posted in another post long ago) about putting the Mrs. Meyer’s cleaner into a bottle with some bamboo skewers with the points snipped off and making a DIY diffuser…I can’t tell you how much money that has saved me now that I don’t have to purchase those stupid wasteful wall plugins. Thanks guys!! Looking forward to the DIY cleaner post!
Thanks Bailey! So glad you’re whipping up little Mrs. Meyer’s reed diffuser things. We still use them around our house too! And as for the Dr. Bronner’s documentary, we’re totally adding it to our list of things to see. It sounds super interesting!
xo,
s
Hey another opinion from a nerdy scientist!! Not only is everything mentioned true but the increased and constant use of antibiotics (that yes are mainly against the natural, unharmful, bacteria that live everywhere) is building up antibiotic-resistance in the truly nasty bacteria!! so keep using regular soap and water, or natural alternative. Also salt water is great for washing fruits and veggies!!!
OH and i wanted to add, that i am a doctor, a Ph.D., and I studied bacteria for my dissertation and work on bacteria now as well. My take on the hand sanitizers. are very similar to antibacteria soap, in the sense they are not necessary. *but are convenient*. if they just like antibacterial soaps have triclosan in them, then they are NOT effective against the flu… however if they are alcohol-based they are better all around. In fact we use 70% alcohol in the lab to “disinfect” our surfaces and equipment.
Thanks so much for weighing in Doctor Jen! So good to know that Almost-Doctor Dan is in such good (and brainy!) company!
xo,
s
Hey… OK.. after re-reading this post and your new ‘green’ post, I am going to try to go ‘green’ with my household products.. As an almost-doctor myself (a year to go), I absolutely know how horrible (and useless) it is to use the products (as I think I’ve said before), but I’ve been brain washed and given my slightly OCD personality I have not been able to give them up. I have decided to make the switch now after all the various recipes you listed on the other website.
As for Maggie.. vaccines (such as the flu shot) are very different than the use of anti-bacterial soaps, etc. Please do not confuse the issue. The mechanism (physiology wise) of the two are very different.
Thanks, Doctor Jen, for mentioning the overuse of antibiotics! Good bacteria is essential inside our bodies, too. Some schools of thought believe the breakdown of this good flora, good bacteria, probiotics, whatever you want to call it, is a major reason for allergies and increased virus-realted illnesses. Just let your body do what it’s supposed to do without adding all the fake stuff.
i love that you guys post about things like this. and i so agree that it’s not necessary to use harsh cleaners and anti-bac stuff! my house is clean (not spotless, but clean!) and i use nothing more than vinegar, tea tree/eucalyptus oil, and bicarb soda. i wash my hands with normal soap and i don’t get sick very often.
i must admit i do get a bit grossed out by raw meat/chicken but that’s probably more to do with my meat aversion than any actual “germs”! so it’s good to read that soap + water is good enough to clean up cooking messes.
thanks for another great post :)