[Pharmwaste] Some things to watch for in cleaning products (antibiotic resistance)

[Tenace, Laurie]

http://www.mlive.com/features/aanews/index.ssf?/base/features-1/1152440195259
010.xml&coll=2 

Some things to watch for in cleaning products 
Antimicrobial agents are generally unnecessary 
Sunday, July 09, 2006
BY ANNE RUETER 

News Staff Reporter 

You may want to do the right thing when you shop for household cleaners and
soaps: Avoid products that might encourage harmful new strains of
antibiotic-resistant germs. Anyone standing before a shelf of products, many
shouting "antibacterial'' and "disinfects as it cleans,'' knows that's easier
said than done. 
 
To help you choose, here are a few tips. 


Products without special ingredients to kill microbes - such as ordinary soap
- are effective and all that's needed in most households. What's more,
popular antibacterial liquid hand soaps, whose active ingredient is typically
triclosan, are no more effective at reducing infection in households than
ordinary soaps, say studies cited by a Food and Drug Administration panel of
experts last fall. 


In special situations - say, someone in your household is ill or has weakened
immune defenses - you may want to use soaps and sprays with antimicrobial
agents. If so, there are many effective products that run no risk of
fostering antibiotic resistance. 


If you want products with germicides in them, read the fine print and know
the lingo. All ingredients that kill germs are not alike. 

Products that contain non-residue-producing germ killers like ethyl or
isopropyl alcohol, chlorine (the agent in bleach), peroxides and aldehydes
are effective and won't encourage resistant strains. They are fast-acting and
vanish. 

In contrast, residue-producing antimicrobial agents stay on a surface and are
long-acting. Some have the potential to allow drug-resistant strains of
bacteria to develop, laboratory studies suggest. One of these, triclosan, is
also a potential worry because it persists in the environment. It has been
found in surface waters, the bile of fish and breast milk. 


Avoid products that contain residue-producing germ killers. Some common ones
are: triclosan (found in many liquid hand soaps and also cutting boards,
toys, high chairs and other household items), triclocarban (found in many bar
soaps), and alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride (found in many household
cleaners). 


The proven way to keep from spreading infection is to wash your hands
thoroughly with soap and warm water. The key times to do it: before you eat
or prepare food, put in contact lenses, or help a sick person; after you use
the bathroom, handle raw meat, poultry or fish, change a diaper, blow your
nose or cough, handle garbage or touch a pet. 

Souces: The above tips come from the Alliance for the Prudent Use of
Antibiotics(www.tufts.edu/med/apua/), a global nonprofit organization that
researches antibiotic resistance and educates the public, and University of
Michigan public health researcher Allison Aiello. The organization has a
"Hygiene for a Healthy Household'' campaign in the works; Aiello is part of
the team preparing it. 


Laurie J. Tenace
Environmental Specialist
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 4555
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400
PH: (850) 245-8759
FAX: (850) 245-8811
Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us  
 
view our mercury web pages at: 
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/mercury/default.htm 

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