Do antibacterial products do more harm than good?
Most hand sanitiser products brand their products with the claim that it “kills 99.9 per cent of household germs”.
However, Professor Liz Harry, director of the ithree institute (Infection, immunology and innovation) at the University of Technology Sydney, says this claim is giving consumers a false sense of security.
“It's not the percentage of germs that matters but the absolute numbers – if there are billions of germs and you kill 99.9 per cent of them, the remaining one per cent can still represent a lot of germs – and you don't know whether they're harmful or not," she told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Professor Harry believes that the widespread use of antibiotics and antibacterial products is empowering germs to outsmart us.
"Bacteria have been around for billions of years – they've learned to defend themselves and have developed genes that resist antibiotics as well as genes that resist antibacterial chemicals. They can also spread these genes to other neighbouring bacteria within minutes," she said.
Germs not only pass their resistance to antibiotics and antibacterial chemicals from one generation to another, but they pass it on to their neighbours too.
"There are times when you need antibacterial solutions but we don't need to spread them around willy nilly. If you use a lot of antibacterial products you risk enriching your home with more bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and antibacterial chemicals," she added.
"The US has banned a number of antibacterial chemicals including triclosan for domestic use because they're not needed in the home and their overuse can make them less effective in hospitals. I think we need to be stricter about regulating some of these chemicals in Australia."
Beneficial bacteria can also be killed off in the overuse of antibacterial products.
"Microbes are part of our world. Most of our body is made up of microbes – and we need most of them to live," said Professor Harry. "They play a role in our defence systems – they stimulate the immune system and help protect our skin, for example."
Like Professor Harry, Professor Peter Collignon from the Australasian College of Infection Prevention and Control believes that antibacterial products are giving us a false sense of security and are making us less vigilant about doing things like handwashing with regular soap.
What to do
"In most situations hot soapy water will do the job along with elbow grease – it's the vigorous physical scrubbing that helps remove bacteria. Alcohol hand rubs are useful when someone is sick or when you're travelling. Vinegar is a useful disinfectant and like alcohol is biodegradable," he said.
Vinegar won’t kill salmonella so surfaces and objects used for raw meat, poultry or fish need cleaning with hot soapy water.
He recommends washing kitchen sponges frequently in hot soapy water or in the dishwasher, and letting them dry out before use.
It is also important to wash hands frequently with hot water.
"Use hot water and normal soap, not antibacterial soap – and scrub your hands like a surgeon," Liz Harry said.
Do you use a lot of antibacterial products in your home and hand sanitiser when travelling or out in public? Let us know in the comments below.