RESEARCH SHOWS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ANTIBACTERIAL PRODUCTS
Years of research have led to a clear conclusion: antimicrobial washes reduce or eliminate bacteria that can lead to skin infections, intestinal illnesses or other commonly transmitted diseases. Dozens of studies have shown that these products work and that they produce real-world results. Below are summaries of a few recent studies that demonstrate the effectiveness and value of antibacterial wash products.
(GE Fischler 2004; "The Hand to Hand Transfer of Bacteria, An Evaluation of Antibacterial Effectiveness Using a Cup Scrub Modification of The ASTM E1174 Health Care Personnel Hand Wash Method")
"The antibacterial soap was significantly more effective at reducing the number of bacteria following a 20 second hand wash than the non antibacterial product."
"The antibacterial hand wash was significantly more effective at reducing the number of bacteria transferred than the non antibacterial product."
"Washing with the antibacterial product reduced the in situ bacterial population by approximately 4 log10 compared to only 1 log10 for the non antibacterial product. Bacterial transfer was similarly reduced, with approximately 1 log10 bacteria recovered on the transferred hand post antibacterial washing compared to a 3 log10 recovered after washing with a non antibacterial product."
Washing with Antibacterial Soap is More Effective than with Regular Soap(J.C. Lucet 2002; "Hand Contamination Before and After Different Hand Hygiene Techniques: a Randomized Clinical Trial")
"Bacterial reduction after handwashing with antiseptic soap (either 10, 30 or 60 s) or handrubbing with the alcohol-based disinfectant was significantly greater than that obtained after handwashing with unmedicated soap (either 10, 30 or 60 s) and handrubbing with the alcohol-based disinfectant."
"…alcohol-based hand rubbing and handwashing with antiseptic soap are more effective than handwashing with unmedicated soap, in reducing the bacterial count on hands."
Antibacterial Soap Reduces Germ Transfer During Diaper Change(L.L. Gibson 2002; "Quantitative Assessment of Risk Reduction From Hand Washing With Antibacterial Soaps")
"The adequate washing of hands after diapering reduces risk and can be further reduced by a factor of 20% by the use of antibacterial soap."
"…although a reasonable reduction of micro-organisms is offered through the use of regular soap formulations, a slightly greater reduction of bacteria and subsequent reduced probability of disease results from using antibacterial formulations."
"While the consumer may believe that hand washing with soap results in 'clean' hands, they may not be microbiologically clean."
Antibacterial Soap Improves Healing of Skin Disease(Debra L. Breneman 2000; "The Effect of Antibacterial Soap with 1.5% Triclocarban on Staphylococcus aureus in Patients With Atopic Dermatitis")
"The antimicrobial soap regimen caused significantly greater improvement in the severity and extent of skin lesions than the placebo soap regimen…"
"Overall, daily bathing with an antibacterial soap was well tolerated, provided clinical improvement, and reduced levels of skin microorganisms."
"In general, the antibacterial soap group showed greater and more rapid improvement with respect to disease extent and severity than did the placebo soap group; they experienced less itching and held with improvement better during the 3-week regression period."
Antiseptic Wash Reduces Absenteeism in Schools(Maryellen Guinan 2002; "The Effect of a Comprehensive Handwashing Program on Absenteeism in Elementary Schools")
"The data strongly suggests that a hand hygiene program that combines education and use of a hand sanitizer in the classroom can lower absenteeism and be cost-effective."
"There was lower absenteeism in 23 of the 27 months the test groups compared with the control groups. The test group had 50.6% fewer episodes of absenteeism than the control group."