Swap soap for liquid handwash in war on superbugs, says health watchdog

3rd of February 2017
Swap soap for liquid handwash in war on superbugs, says health watchdog

People should stop using bars of soap and switch to liquid soap in the war against superbugs, according to official advice.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in the UK claims that liquid soap and tepid running water are the key to good hand hygiene.

Deputy chief executive Professor Gillian Leng cites two reasons for NICE referencing liquid hand wash rather than soap.

"Partly it is that all the evidence we have is about the role of liquid soap," she said. "But also it is because intuitively when you see a bar of soap collecting dirt, you don't need a microscope to know that it's not the most hygienic approach."

There are growing calls for an increased focus on hand hygiene in the light of antibiotic resistance. "Without changes to prevent the spread of infection and thus limit the use of antibiotics, some routine medical procedures will become fatal," said Leng.

England's chief medical officer Professor Dame Sally Davies agrees that there is an urgent need to address the growing problem of drug-resistant infections. "The global medicine cabinet is becoming increasingly bare," she said. "Preventing infections in the first place is key - and so is education on how to use antibiotics appropriately."

And Public Health England's medical director Paul Cosford concurs. "Good hand, respiratory and food hygiene plus appropriate antimicrobial use are vital to stop the spread of infections and reduce resistance," he said. "We all have a part to play in this battle against antimicrobial resistance to ensure that antimicrobial treatments do not become obsolete in the future."

 

 

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