Soaps Won’T Cause Resistant Bacteria

Q. What will be the long-term effect of using antibacterial soaps? Will we be at risk for developing antibiotic resistance? - A.O., Yakima

A. You can rest easy. Yes, antibacterial soaps do kill bacteria that reside on the skin’s surface, but since their active ingredient (usually triclosan) is a chemical disinfectant, no sort of resistance to the antibiotics we use to fight infection should occur. There is a small theoretical risk that daily use of these soaps could lead to lead to triclosan-resistant bacteria, but thus far that hasn’t been a problem.

With that said, you bring up an important health concern: the rise of antibiotic resistance. When penicillin first became available in the late 1930s, it was a truly amazing drug. Nowadays, there are many bacterial infections that are resistant to it. We now often need to use much more powerful antibiotics than penicillin to treat infections that would have been easily treatable 60 years ago.

Why? Well, part of it has to do with the normal mutations that occur in bacteria, creating strains of bacteria that are able to resist the bug-killing enzymes of penicillin that work to destroy the cell wall of the bacteria (and thus the bacteria itself). All it takes is a few mutated resistant bacteria to repopulate and replace the antibiotic-sensitive ones. That means that a person harbors more dangerous bacteria, and the antibiotic you’re taking won’t work nearly as well the next time you need it.

Additionally, we have the potential to spread these resistant bacteria to other people. Charles Darwin described these concepts of “natural selection” and “survival of the fittest” almost 200 years ago.

A big contributor to the very serious problem of antibiotic resistance is overuse of antibiotics. When you develop cold or flu symptoms, don’t call your doctor insisting that an antibiotic be prescribed. Not only won’t an antibiotic work against viruses that cause colds and flu, but you’re exposing your body to an antibiotic that may be less effective the next time you truly need it.

Years ago, the expectation was that if you saw your doctor for a cough or sore throat, an antibiotic would be prescribed. In many instances, that drug, in the long run, hurt more than it helped.

Another big cause for developing antibiotic resistance is failure to take the full 7-10 days of antibiotics you’re prescribed. If you stop your antibiotic after a few days, once you’re feeling better, there will be a few surviving bacteria left behind that may become resistant to the antibiotic you were just taking. Next time you need it, it might not work very well. Always take your antibiotic for the full course your doctor prescribed.

Don’t underestimate the value of a good exam by your doctor of your throat, tonsils, lungs, sinuses, etc. A cough of green or brown sputum is probably bacterial; a dry cough or a cough productive of clear sputum is more likely to be due to a cold or viral infection.

If the cough persists or is associated with a fever, you should see a doctor to make sure that you don’t have pneumonia. Tender sinuses usually need antibiotics; nontender sinuses usually just need a drug to thin secretions, like guaifenesin (Robitussin) along with a decongestant pill.

Ear infections in children are a huge area where antibiotics are overprescribed. Many of these infections are viral, but a screaming young child makes for a difficult ear exam.

There is aggressive research into finding new antibiotics to combat antibiotic resistance. There’s also research into drugs that can boost our immune system to better fight off infection.