With cold and flu season starting up again, we need to remind our kids about proper hand washing. I am constantly on my kids to wash up after school. I have worked in their classrooms and have seen those runny little noses being wiped on everything but a tissue!!
This article is from the EcoMom website. Good information about a product that many of us use when we aren’t able to wash with soap and water.
Is Your Favorite Antibacterial Hand Cleanser Actually Making You Sick?
by Kimberly Danek-Pinkson on November 18, 2010
Whether in the car, purse, home or classroom, you’ve probably got some hand cleanser somewhere. Particularly as the cold and flu season kicks in, you think you’re doing good by wiping down hands, door handles, and desk tops, with your favorite antibacterial gel, spray or wipe. Problem is, it probably contains Triclosan, a registered pesticide often used in conventional hand cleansers. You can avoid chemicals like Triclosan by using good old fashioned soap and water when at home, and on the go, opting for hand cleansers made with essential oils to kill 99.9% of harmful bacteria, without any chemicals.
Need more convincing as to why to avoid Tricolosan? Read on:
- Triclosan disrupts hormones, builds up in body fat and may interfere with other important hormonal and cell signals in both human and animal life.
- Triclosan (and many other harmful chemicals) migrate. It has been found in our bodies and in the breast milk of women using personal care products that contain the chemical.
- Triclosan has been found in water downstream from wastewater treatment facilities (which means it isn’t being totally removed from wastewater) and in the sludge applied to fields as a fertilizer.
- Triclosan has also been found in dolphins, earthworms and frogs, and it may be disrupting their development.
- Triclosan may lead to bacterial resistance, and the American Medical Association has recommended avoiding antimicrobial agents because of resistance concerns.
