Bacteria-Laden Soap Not So Clean

Washing your hands regularly can help you stay healthy. But could it also get you sick?

THE GIST

Many soap dispensers in public places are contaminated with potentially harmful bacteria.

Washing with contaminated soap increases the concentration of bacteria on people's hands and on the surfaces they touch. Public health experts continue to urge people to wash their hands regularly with soap and warm water.

Soap may not always be as clean as it seems, suggests a new study, which found that every soap dispenser at an elementary school in Ohio was contaminated with bacteria that are known to cause illnesses. When kids washed with the soap, microbe levels on their hands soared.

It's not yet clear how much of a health risk people face from microbe-laden soap, and public health experts continue to urge regular hand washing as one of the most important things that people can do to stay healthy. But the findings suggest that administrators of schools, gyms and other public places might want to re-examine the kinds of soap dispensers they use and the methods they use to clean them.

Read more: http://news.discovery.com/human/soap-bacteria-clean-110506.html