Could the soap you wash your hands with everyday be doing you any good? That is the question the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is asking manufacturers. They are proposing a new rule requiring the soap making companies to prove the added ingredients in antibacterial soaps are necessary. The active ingredient in the soaps such as triclosan and triclocarban may be causing more harm than good and using regular soap and water maybe be more beneficial to our overall health. The final verdict on requiring proof won’t be decided until 2016, but in the meantime antibacterial soap manufacturers are having to start testing their products and submit their own findings by the end of next year.

To properly wash your hands with or without antibacterial soaps:

Wet your hands with clean water and apply soap.
Lather your hands all over, between fingers, and under fingernails.
Continue scrubbing for at least 20 seconds,
or the time it takes you to sing Happy Birthday twice!
Rinse hands under clean water and dry using a clean towel.

by Amy Brown – February 5, 2014

http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/16/health/fda-antibacterial

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/12/16/fda-antibacterial-soap/4038907

http://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html
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