Remember when our first infant’s pacifier or bottle fell on the floor…our lightening-speed response lest a single germ “endanger” our darling new treasure? We all want the best for our kids, but sometimes “best” doesn’t mean “germ-free.” In fact, trying to head off germs through antibacterial soaps may be doing us all more harm than good.

Our obsession with anti-germhood may be heading us down an unsafe path, similar to what has happened with antibiotics. Antibiotics changed the world, and are a truly wonderful invention. Their overuse and misuse, however, is leading to strains of resistant bacteria that may render them helpless in real antibiotic-necessary occasions. Some medical professionals have called this a “global crisis.”

Antibiotic cousins—antibacterials—have been around in popular use for about a decade. Prior to that, they were used mostly in hospitals, convalescent homes, etc., where bacterial proliferation and vulnerability to such could cause serious problems. The same is probably not true in our own bathrooms and kitchens (despite how our kids’ messes feel sometimes). Now, antibacterials are used in most homes (and in about 75 percent of the soaps), though their household value has never been proven. Besides, antibacterials are no force against viruses, which just have to run their course.

There are two basic kinds of antibacterials. The ones that work fast to kill off bacteria and then vanish, are usually made with alcohol, peroxide, or chlorine. (You probably have one of these types in your purse or diaper bag.) Obviously, they’ve been around in various forms a while. And there’s a newer set of antibacterials, usually embedded or coated on products. The kind I’ve noticed most is called Triclosan, which is bonded to things like cutting boards, kids’ toys, and highchairs. The bonding must not last forever, though, because triclosan has been discovered in breast milk and sewage treatment centers, among other places. Like a lot of new compounds, we don’t know long-term effects of triclosan alone, or in combination…It does make me wonder, though. It turns out, washing hands and toys and highchairs well is really what we should be doing, and teaching our kids to do. By using regular soap and scrubbing, germs and bacteria come off fine, and we don’t commit “overkill,” literally!

Check out these websites for more scoop on antibacterials: Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics, National Center for Infectious Diseases (search: antibacterial).

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