Foam soaps are increasingly replacing traditional liquid soaps in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, the food industry and other public spaces, but the trend may carry a risk, a small study suggests.
Foam soaps may not be as effective as liquid soaps in eliminating bacteria that can lead to infection, the authors say.
“In this pilot study, when standard hand washing techniques were used – washing wet hands with one pump of foam soap for six seconds and drying with a paper towel for four seconds – the foam soap was not as effective as the liquid soap in eliminating the hand bacterial load,” Dr.
Ozlem Equils at UCLA’s School of Medicine and the Miora Educational Foundation in Encino, California, told Reuters Health by email.