University of Minnesota/University of Puerto Rico: Practice Based Learning Collaborative: Antibacterial Soaps are a Washout, Declared FDA Panel

October 21, 2005

Antibacterial Soaps are a Washout, Declared FDA Panel

By Neil Osterweil, Senior Associate Editor, MedPage Today
Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
October 20, 2005

Review
SILVER SPRING, Md., Oct. 20 - Antibacterial soaps don't reduce the risk of illness any better than plain old soap, proclaimed an FDA advisory committee today in a unanimous vote.

Indeed, said Alastair J.J. Wood, M.D., of Vanderbilt, chairman of the FDA's Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee, the members of the panel were unconvinced by testimony during the day that antibacterial soaps and disposable wipes are any more effective than regular soap and water in preventing infections in the home.