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Skin Treatment Products with Anti-Bacterial Ingredients Can Be Seriously Toxic

02/22/2008

Anti-bacterial soaps are now in almost every public bathroom and private household I’ve visited in the last few years, and a number of other skin treatment products are now also anti-bacterial. Although it would seem these products would prevent disease they, in fact, can do just the opposite. Not only have studies shown them to be no more effective at fighting bacteria than regular soap and water, these seemingly beneficial products contain some of the worst chemical killers ever to hit planet earth and can cause serious damage to the liver, kidneys, lungs, heart and immune system. If you can’t avoid using anti-bacterial products make sure you apply a shielding lotion to prevent their absorption but, really, using non-toxic skin treatment products is your safest bet. Here’s why.

The most frequently used active ingredient in anti-bacterial soaps and other anti-bacterial skin treatment products is Triclosan – a toxic pesticide rated by the EPA with the highest scores regarding the risk to human health and the environment. Why is this product so dangerous?

The molecular structure and chemical formula of Triclosan is very similar to dioxin, PCBs, and Agent Orange. Agent Orange was used as a chemical warfare agent in the Vietnam War. It scorched 25 percent of the country’s forests, increased the cancer risk to 30% for those exposed to it, and produced about 50,000 deformed children of parents who were directly sprayed with it or exposed to it through contaminated food or water. Three million Vietnamese and tens of thousands of U.S soldiers are still suffering the effects of this killer over 30 years later.

Dioxin, another killer, is a hormone-disrupting substance that was used in Agent Orange. According to the EPA, it is 300,000 times more carcinogenic that DDT. DDT was outlawed in the U.S. and Canada in 1972 due to its devastating effect on the environment. Although Triclosan does not actually contain dioxin, there is evidence that dioxin is produced in the manufacturing of Triclosan produces dioxin. How we can ignore this evidence and use Triclosan in household and skin treatment products is beyond me.

Here’s what happens when you use soap or other anti-bacterial skin treatment products:

• When you bath, shower or wash your face using anti-bacterial soap with chlorinated water – which applies to all of the water in the U.S. water systems - the chlorine combines with the Triclosan to form chloroform gas – rated by the EPA as a possible carcinogen.
  
  
• The Triclosan is also absorbed through the skin, unless you’re using a skin treatment product like a shielding lotion to prevent chemical absorption, and is stored in the fatty tissues where it stays for years. As you use more of it, it accumulates to toxic levels, damages the immune system, the liver, kidneys, lungs, and heart and can cause paralysis, brain hemorrhage, infertility, decreased sexual function, heart attacks and coma.
  
  
• When it’s rinsed off, it goes into the water system contaminating our water supply and the earth which, in turn, contaminates other people. If you think this is uncommon, you should know that a U.S. Geological Survey found that 57% of the streams they tested in 30 states contained Triclosan. So, even if you don’t use anti-bacterial skin treatment or other products, you’re still in danger.
  
  
• When you go out the sun or are otherwise exposed to UV rays, the Triclosan breaks down into dioxin.
  
  
• Do note that if you have dry skin, a cut, wound or an eczema flare, you would definitely want to stay away from these products – the potential for absorption increases exponentially if the protective surface layer of the skin is compromised.

Do we really want these products in our detergents, household cleaning products deodorants, cosmetics, toothpastes, mouthwashes, and so on? Absolutely not – just using an antibacterial floor cleaner in hot water could release dioxin, why would we possibly consider using it in hand soap and other skin treatment products?

As it’s not always possible to avoid these products, and as we’re exposed to them via our water systems even if we don’t use them, your best is to always use a shielding lotion – shielding lotion was specifically designed as skin care treatment for those who work with chemicals and is now recommended by thousands of doctors for dry skin, eczema and other skin conditions. But, wherever possible, keep your distance from anti-bacterial skin treatment products. They are dangerous.

Technorati Tags: skin treatment, skin care treatment, shielding lotion, dry skin, skin care

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