Health - Brian Fung - Soap: Does It Really Work? - The Atlantic

It's common knowledge that washing your hands often and well is the best way to prevent disease transmission. Many of us are accustomed to using soap during handwashing as a matter of course -- it's there in public bathrooms, it's in our homes, it's in the office kitchen. Then there are those miscreants among us who seem satisfied simply to rinse with running water before going back to their business. Who are these germ-mongerers, that they think they can ignore the very clearly labeled (and fragrant!) sudsy agents the rest of us use with such diligence? Before we get too carried away in our indignation, it's worth pointing out that soap is neither the holy elixir we sometimes think it is, nor do the vast majority of people actually use it as fastidiously as they should. Below, what science has to tell us about the real value of soap. How effective is soap over plain old water? It works, but all else being equal, water has a greater marginal effect. Health professionals recommend handwashing before eating, after using the bathroom, changing a diaper, and other situations in which you might come into contact with harmful bacteria. Germs cling to our hands a lot more easily than we give them credit for, and almost no amount of soap will remove them if other aspects of your handwashing technique aren't up to snuff. On the bright side, combining good technique with water alone can actually remove a significant share of germs from your hands. This has been proven in countries where access to soap is limited. In rural Bangladesh, where diarrhea among children is a widespread problem, scientists examined the effectiveness of four different forms of hygiene on incidences of diarrhea. Some study participants were observed preparing their family's meals without washing their hands after using the bathroom. Others were observed washing one hand using water only; still others were seen washing both hands with water; and lastly, scientists saw some food preparers wash at least one hand with water and soap. While taking detailed notes on the manner and opportunities for handwashing, researchers also conducted monthly diarrhea tests on the children in each household in the study. Here's what they found: In households where food was prepared without washing hands, children had diarrhea in 12.5% of monthly assessments compared with 8.3% in households where one hand was washed with water only, 6.9% where both hands were washed with water only, and 3.7% where at least one hand was washed with soap. Food preparers commonly washed one or both hands with water only, but fieldworkers observed food preparers washing at least one hand with soap in only three households (1%). Through the use of water alone on both hands, the rate of diarrhea was cut by nearly half. Not bad for a little H2O. Adding in soap had a predictable effect, cutting the prevalence of diarrhea again by another 3.2 points, but the gains from soap clearly weren't as high as from scrubbing with water. So, while avoiding soap if it's available is still a missed opportunity to remove germs, rinsing isn't so pointless, either. Maybe we should withhold our judgment. you can read the rest here: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/06/soap-does-it-really-work/25...

An interesting read on one of our most common everyday used items does soap really work!