neminly asked:


should we avoid using products containing triclosan?

Triclosan is fat-soluble and easily penetrates the bacterial cell wall. And once inside the cell it attacks an enzyme that is used to produce fatty acids that are vital to cell function. This type of mode-of-action could ultimately lead to the development of antibiotic resistance. Through continual use of triclosan, non-resistant bacterial strains would be killed, leaving only the bacteria whose enzyme system has evolved to resist the presence of triclosan. Some microbiologists fear that the commercial and personal overuse of triclosan could reduce effectiveness of currently useful antibiotics.”

http://fcs.tamu.edu/health/Health_Education_Rural_Outreach/Health_Hints/2006/october06/staph.pdf