Next time when you wash your hands with an antibacterial soap to clean all those germs, check the label of your anti bacterial handwash.
A latest study shows that handwashing with an antibacterial soap may expose people, especially health workers, to unsafe levels of a chemical which interferes with hormones
This can also cause developmental problems in foetuses and newborns. Triclosan, a synthetic antibacterial agent, is found in thousands of products, including soaps, cosmetics, acne creams and some toothpaste.
Exposure to triclosan is now currently under review by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) due to its potential health risk.
Paul Blanc, a professor of medicine at University of California San Francisco told a leading agency, “Antimicrobial soaps can carry unknown risks and triclosan is of particular concern. Our study shows that people absorb this chemical at work and at home, depending on the products that they use.”
During the study, researchers analysed urine samples from groups of doctors and nurses who use antibacterial soaps and found that workers had significantly higher levels of triclosan in their urine than workers at hospital.
The study was published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
