3 Reasons to stop using antibacterial wipes or soaps

 

When my first baby was born, I was often called a germaphobe - for very good reasons that I won‘t even attempt to deny. Before we even brought him home from the hospital, every sink in the house was outfitted with some sweet-smelling antibacterial soap from Bath n’ Body Works. Our diaper bag was filled with antibacterial wipes, along with both cars, all purses and the nursery. We encouraged the use of a bink at indoor play places like our children’s museum so that he couldn’t put germ covered toys or fingers in his mouth. And as he got older, we had our own little mats to put down at restaurants (after scrubbing the high chair, table and other surfaces with the wipes!).

We didn’t do half of those things with my second baby, and we rarely use an antibacterial wipe now. Why? What’s changed? A couple things.

1. He still got sick. Our primary goal was to protect him from evil germs but they found their way thru our protective barriers. Funny thing is, antibacterial ingredients don’t kill viruses that lead to colds and flu. Great. We didn’t know.

2. We learned about the potential danger of “super bugs” - bacteria that becomes resistant to drugs from overuse of antibacterial soaps. We certainly didn’t want to help those kinds of bugs.

3. All of those products labeled “antibacterial” contain a harmful chemical called triclosan that has been linked to cancer, liver and inhalation toxicity, and thyroid issues.  Now, I’m no scientist, but these are critical development years for my kids and chemicals can’t be good for growing strong, healthy bodies.

So now we wash our hands with good old fashioned soap. There’s not much in our soap and we look for the kind without dyes, perfumes and other chemicals that we and the earth are sensitive to. The key is to wash our hands for 26 seconds to really kill the germs so the kids know to sing the alphabet while they scrub. For our youngest, she loves to show us how well she sings her ABC’s so this is almost a game (hurray).

I’ve learned to let go of most of my germ fears knowing that we’re armed with soap and water - but I know they still lurk in school, at restaurants and other indoor places where children gather. I haven’t figured out how to win the battle there yet since I know it‘s not something that always happens when I‘m not around. And I continue to look forward to the day when my youngest doesn’t lick her finger after dragging it along the escalator rail.

Comments

[PureNaturalDiva]

My feelings exactly!
I do use clean well, which is a thyme based hand sanitizer when it's not convenient to wash hands.

[Marie]

Couldn't agree more. People don't always appreciate extra chemicals they expose their little ones to with many of these products.

Plus the early years are important for the development of the immune system, and just like getting a vaccination, you need some exposure to a few bugs in order to build immunity against them.

If children aren't able to build their immune systems against the common everyday bugs that exist in our regular environment, how are they going to be able to cope as they grow up?