You've been warned about all the problems associated with alcohol-based hand sanitizers intended to keep you clean that were only marginally more effective than doing nothing at all. But that's not the only potential problem with chemically-spiked soaps…
Based on data collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a University of Michigan School of Public Health study has found disturbing problems linking overexposure to triclosan, an antibacterial agent and endocrine disruptor used in toothpaste, body washes and soaps, with greater reports of allergies and hay fever among patients under age 19.
The lead investigator on this study believes the Hygiene Hypothesis, a theory that the lack of exposure to germs and other things early on in our lives may have prevented our immune systems from developing fully, may be leaving our kids "too clean for their own good."
Not to leave older folks out of the study, researchers found the immune health of adults was compromised as well by exposure to another very popular endocrine disruptor, Bisphenol A (BPA).
Interestingly, as far as BPA exposure, age does matter, scientists say. Higher BPA levels were linked to cytomegalovirus (CMV) antibody levels and poorer immune levels in patients age 18-older, but the opposite was true for young folks under age 18.
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Environmental Health Perspectives November 29, 2010 Free Full Text PDF
insciences.org November 29, 2010