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Antimicrobial Consumer Products
Where's the Benefit? What's the Risk?
Arch Dermatol. 2002;138:1087-1088.
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| Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings. |
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THE PROLIFERATION of antibacterial-containing consumer products on the
market and in households raises concern—and for good reason. The perceived
benefits are not evident, yet the potential negative consequences are. These
same surface chemicals have been used effectively for several decades in hospitals
under stringent guidelines that require, among other precautions, minutes,
not seconds, of exposure. In hospitals, a high concentration of ingredients
is maintained on the animate or inanimate surfaces long enough to do the antimicrobial
job required.
Strict effective methods of application are not followed in healthy
households where the products are used casually under general washing conditions—for
seconds—allowing only minimal time for them to be effective. Moreover,
the substances in consumer products leave residues on kitchen and bathroom
surfaces where they are diluted down to less-than-effective doses. This sets
up the perfect condition for the selection of microbes resistant to their
action. More importantly, no benefit to consumers . . . [Full Text of this Article] RECOMMENDED READINGS
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Use of Antimicrobial Agents in Consumer Products
Litjen Tan, Nancy H. Nielsen, Donald C. Young, Zoltan Trizna, and for the Council on Scientific Affairs, American Medical Association
Arch Dermatol. 2002;138(8):1082-1086.
ABSTRACT
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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
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Effect of Hand Hygiene on Infectious Disease Risk in the Community Setting: A Meta-Analysis
Aiello et al.
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