Do antibacterial products beat hand washing?

I would like to see antibacterial handwash removed from general sale. Proper hand washing is perfectly adequate. The chemicals used in antibacterial products in waste water cause environmental damage and may be harmful to humans. I don’t know if triclosan is still used in handwash, but at one time it was even included in toothpaste – without much thought being given to the consequences.

We need to stop exposure of ourselves and our children to potentially toxic chemicals.

I wash my hands using liquid hand wash. Seeing people using anti-bacterial hand gels makes me think that they are not clean and do not wash their hands properly.

At home I regularly, wipe handles with a bleach/soap/water mix or dettol.

I think loo flush buttons, pulls and cord are the most unhygienic and would much prefer a voice recognition alert to set the flush off. Also trouser zips, waist bands must be very dirty.

I can remember the days in my youth when carbolic soap was used at home and in schools by the brand name of Lifebuoy which did a good job of keeping most bacteria away.

Since these antibacterial gels don’t kill viruses anyway, I can’t see the point as it is virtually impossible to avoid coming into contact with germs of one species or another and there is always the airborne variety floating around at the ready looking for a suitable host to latch onto! There are buttons to press in lifts, on parking meters and security entrance systems everywhere you go these days and unless you become completely paranoid and lock yourself away in isolation it is impossible to avoid contact with them.

This of shouldn’t stop people washing their hands after visiting the loo though. I have been in public toilets when people have exited without bothering to wash their hands and have gone on to push their shopping trolley around the store. Also people stopping for coffee and cake after handling a trolley so a hand gel might prove useful on these occasions. I always take a hand gel away on holiday abroad as there has been the odd occasion where washing facilities were unavailable.

I do think there is still a case for people working in the food industry and in hospitals where the potential danger of contamination is more likely to continue using antibacterial gels, but most peoples immune systems do need something to work on to prevent it from attacking its host, but apart from that I don’t think the antibacterials are absolutely necessary for people in general.