A doctor has warned that certain antibacterial ingredients in hand soaps could weaken your immune system.
The doctor warned that manmade chemicals triclosan and triclocarban could strip your skin of essential bacterias that live on the skin to protect your body.
“It’s all very well that people are trying to stockpile antibacterial handwash. But it’s been proven that certain antibacterial and antifungal agents which are added to some products can have adverse effects on the immune system,” explained Dr Diana Gall of online service Doctor-4-U.
“Look out for triclosan and triclocarban on labels before purchasing antibacterial handwashes”.
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“While these handwash ingredients are not deadly,” clarified Dr Gall, “the use of them every day could break down defences which could put you more at risk of contracting coronavirus”.
However, one doctor has said that this shouldn’t put people off from washing their hands.
Mr Parvinder Sagoo, pharmacist and clinical advisor at SimplyMeds, said that the most important thing is that we are all still washing our hands, despite what we’re using.
“There have been studies conducted in the past about how ingredients such as triclosan and triclocarban have been linked to certain allergies in users,” said Mr Sagoo, however not enough research has been done on the effects it has on the body”.
“Furthermore, triclocarban is used in many household products such as clothing, kitchenware and toys, so if it was of any worry I’m certain it would have been further researched by now,” he added.
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“We should not be sending out any messages that a person is “too clean”. It is imperative that every person washes their hands as much as they feel they need to, to try and prevent further spreading of Covid-19”.
So while double checking your hand wash’s ingredients could be a good idea, as long as you continue to wash your hands and keep them clean that’s the most important thing!
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