Recent intense media scrutiny including hidden camera video in Canadian hospitals has exposed an alarming truth: there is a shocking lack of diligence among the
general public, many visitors to health-care facilities and, most disturbingly,
the majority of doctors and other health-care workers with respect to frequent and effective hand-washing.
But as the
U.S.'s National Handwashing Week drew to a close this past weekend, two recent studies are drawing attention to some previously unknown hidden health risks associated with increasingly vigorous and frequent hand-washing, with newer, chemical laden anti-bacterial soaps and sanitizing gels.
This past August a
University of Michigan study in the journal
Clinical Infectious Diseases showed that antibacterial soaps available to the public might convey no health benefits over plain soap and water. Indeed the study showed that these soaps also were no more effective at simply removing bacteria from the skin, not to mention having questionable antibacterial action.