How come soap doesn't promote bacteria resistant to it, like with antibiotics?

Question

The well-known problem with antibiotics is that some bacteria might survive that have natural resistance to the treatment. With other less-hardy bacteria out of the way, these "super-bugs" have an open field to multiply, which is how we get antibiotic-resistant germs.

Well, why isn't the situation the same with soap or other products with anti-bacterial ingredients?? Or is it the same, and if so, does that mean we should limit our use of soap??

Follow-up question: ok, if the majority consensus is that soap merely makes the surface slippery so that bacteria washes off of it easily, then that makes sense: soap doesn't promote soap-resistant bacteria.

But...what about hand sanitzer that "kills 99.99% of germs"? What happens to the 00.01% of germs left over to multiply in an uncontested, germ-free surface??...

Answer 1

soap, in and of itself, is not an antibacterial agent. some soaps have antibacterial agents added to them, and make the claim that they rid the skin of bacteria. studies have shown that those souped-up soaps don't actually cleanse bacteria off skin any better than plain old soap, because in order for the antibacterial agent to actually kill the bacteria, it must be left on the skin without rinsing for somewhere between 30 seconds to 2 minutes. nobody does this - who has that kind of time to waste?

plain soap cleanses the skin of bacteria by basically allowing water to work better. running water combined with the friction of rubbing one's hands together is what actually cleans your hands. soap makes the water more slippery, causing any bacteria on the skin to slide off in the stream of running water. even if you didn't have any soap, you could still clean your hands by rubbing them vigorously under running water for the length of time it takes you to sing "happy birthday" or the ABC song.

plain and simple, antibacterial soaps are a waste of money. they are just one more way for the detergent manufacturer's to get you to buy their products. think of "antibacterial" on a label as being the same kind of sales gimmick as "new and improved" - it ususally doesn't mean the new product is any better than the old product. also, there is the slight possibility that having all that triclosan (the most common antibacterial agent used in soap) going down our drains could lead to an increase of resistant bacteria in our water supplies. plus, those soaps are really drying and/or irritating to the skin.

that being said, if you don't have access to a sink with clean running water, and some plain old soap, those antibacterial lotions or gels actually do work. this is because they are left to dry on the skin, which gives the antibacterial agent time to do its thing.

Answer 2

"anti-bacterial" soap is no more effective than any other soap. It's nothing but a marketing ploy. All soap does is help to bind dirt and grime away from the hands. The key to proper handwashing is friction under running water to wash bacteria away.

1. Wet your hands
2. Apply soap to hands and vigourously scrub for 10-15 seconds.
3. Put hands under running water and thoroughly rub and rinse.
4. Dry hands with paper towel - not a wash rag that's been hanging on the rack for days.
5. Turn off the water with the paper towel, not your clean hands.
6. Open the door with the paper towel.

Answer 3

"super-bugs?" LOL... if bacteria was a bug this would be a much better expression. Antibacterial soap along with what's it called?... purell etc can cause resistant bacteria. They seem to adapt/mutate (possibly) pretty quickly. Regular soap is actually just as effective. The detergent and the scrubbing is what cleans...not the antibacterial component.

PS. Where did you get "super-bugs" from? That's pretty funny albeit inaccurate.
and for the subsequent poster... I was singing happy birthday in the bathroom and people were looking at me funny.

PPS... The RN in the first post needs to learn her science just a LITTLE better. LOL. Let me explain. The oils in our skin can 'trap' the bacteria. The soap encapsulates these oils. The water soluable part attracts polar substances, while the hydrophobic part repels water and sticks to your hand. When you rub the oils and dirts are 'loosened'

Answer 4

Soap (unless its antibacterial) doesn't kill bacteria. Therefore the bacteria do not become resistant to it.

Antibacterial soap, on the other hand (excuse the pun) DOES encourage resistant bacterial strains to develop.

The definition of a detergent is any element that reduces the surface tension of water. So for example, fat is technically a detergent. However fat does nothing to reduce bacterial count.

Answer 5

all soap does is make the bacteria "slippery", so it can be washed off. Antibacterial soap or regular soap, they all work exactly the same way, they have surfactants that break the ability of things like bacteria, dirt etc to stick to our skin, so they can be washed away. The do not kill germs, so germs don't build resistance to them, they simply affect their physical ability to stick. Asking if bacteria can become resistant to soap, is like asking if humans can become resistant to tidal waves. So keep washing your hands.

Answer 6

Anti Bacterial products ARE doing the same thing.

Look it up.