Discover the Science of Health
Under a proposed rule announced recently by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), manufacturers of antibacterial hand soap and body wash will be required to prove their products are safe for long-term use and more effective than plain soap and water in preventing illness and the spread of infection.
The best way to stay healthy and avoid getting sick is to wash your hands. Some of the most recent scientific evidence comes from a study of hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA or “staph”) is a bacteria that can enter the body through breaks in the skin and cause severe infections and even death, especially in people who are already sick. MRSA represents a major control problem in hospitals as it has developed a resistance to all penicillins, including methicillin and other narrow-spectrum beta-lactamase-resistant penicillin antibiotics [1]. Researchers concluded at the end of the study that hospitals could greatly limit the spread of MRSA through the use of increased barrier protection (gloves) by workers and more frequent hand washing [2].
