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I think you're confusing antibiotics with antibacterials. Using hand soap with triclosan has antibacterial properties, none of which contribute to antibiotic r

by jeremyt 11y ago

I think you're confusing antibiotics with antibacterials. Using hand soap with triclosan has antibacterial properties, none of which contribute to antibiotic resistance. There are lots of reasons to quit using antibacterials in your house, and I have stopped, but contributing to the antibiotic resistance problem is not one of them.

Agathos 11y ago
True about household soaps and cleaners, but rwj has a point with, "stop dosing livestock with antibiotics as a prophylactic."
- pyre 11y ago
  It's not even a prophylactic. Livestock grow larger, quicker on antibiotics. We're not entirely sure why, but it means more money, so it has to be good, right?
maxerickson 11y ago
There actually is concern that triclosan resistance may confer resistance to other antimicrobials: http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/mdr.2006.12.83 http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/mdr.2006.12.83 (as far as I know, antibiotic and antibacterial are largely synonymous)
- cstross 11y ago
  >(as far as I know, antibiotic and antibacterial are largely synonymous) Not really. Antimicrobial: an agent that kills bacteria or fungi. Antibiotic: an agent that kills bacteria or fungi in the body. This is a crucial distinction. Phenols have been around as antimicrobial disinfectants for over a century and a half, but you really don't want to take them internally. Whereas something like penicillin VK -- alas, no longer very useful due to widespread resistance -- is pretty much safe to take in large doses, unless an immune response arises. We've got plenty of antimicrobial agents; what we're short on are ones that don't poison us along with the target organisms when we take them.
rwj 11y ago
Yes, good point. Resistance to antibacterials might also be a problem, so their use in consumer goods is still problematic, but the distinction does undermine my tldr.

by jeremyt 11y ago

Agathos 11y ago

True about household soaps and cleaners, but rwj has a point with, "stop dosing livestock with antibiotics as a prophylactic."

pyre 11y ago
It's not even a prophylactic. Livestock grow larger, quicker on antibiotics. We're not entirely sure why, but it means more money, so it has to be good, right?

maxerickson 11y ago

There actually is concern that triclosan resistance may confer resistance to other antimicrobials: http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/mdr.2006.12.83 http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/mdr.2006.12.83 (as far as I know, antibiotic and antibacterial are largely synonymous)

cstross 11y ago
>(as far as I know, antibiotic and antibacterial are largely synonymous) Not really. Antimicrobial: an agent that kills bacteria or fungi. Antibiotic: an agent that kills bacteria or fungi in the body. This is a crucial distinction. Phenols have been around as antimicrobial disinfectants for over a century and a half, but you really don't want to take them internally. Whereas something like penicillin VK -- alas, no longer very useful due to widespread resistance -- is pretty much safe to take in large doses, unless an immune response arises. We've got plenty of antimicrobial agents; what we're short on are ones that don't poison us along with the target organisms when we take them.

rwj 11y ago

Yes, good point. Resistance to antibacterials might also be a problem, so their use in consumer goods is still problematic, but the distinction does undermine my tldr.