Doctors may be better off washing their hand
with yoghurt
03 Nov 2005
Doctors might be better off washing their hands with yoghurt instead of relying
on antiseptic soap-scrubbing, according to a new discussion paper by a UCL
(University College London) researcher.
Scientists should investigate whether saturating the skin with 'good' bacteria
would offer better protection against deadly germs, says the paper. Professor
Mark Spigelman, of the UCL Centre for Infectious Diseases and International
Health, is calling for a study to be set up in hospital units in which
antibiotics would be banned, to explore alternative health protection measures
against MRSA.
In the paper, published in the November issue of Annals of the Royal College of
Surgeons, Professor Spigelman says the time has come to re-evaluate the concept
of using antibiotics and scrubbing hands and wounds with antiseptic soaps. His
paper outlines a six-point proposal to set up surgical hospitals which would be
antibiotic-free and would instead comply with the novel standard practices being
investigated.
Professor Mark Spigelman says: "Inappropriate use of antibiotics remains a
major problem, despite our ever-growing understanding of how bacteria behave.
For example, any student who has grown bacteria in a lab will know that they
generally do not grow on top of one another. So when we wash our hands, we could
actually be killing off harmless commensals to the extent that we leave space
for other bacteria, such as MRSA strains, to settle.
"Perhaps we should be thinking about using probiotics and even dipping our
hands after thorough washing into a solution which contains harmless bacteria,
which could then colonise our skin and prevent pathogenic bacteria from settling
on it.
"It must be remembered that after almost 40 years, MRSA has not become
widespread except in hospitals where we use the most advanced antibiotics and
most rigorous antiseptic measures. Why is this? More of the same does not seem
to be working - new antibiotics and antibacterial soaps have not stopped MRSA.
"The idea may sound absurd, but I believe that a probiotic cleaning
procedure is an avenue worth exploring. To overcome the current epidemic of MRSA
and other bacteria, we should aim to set up a handful of hospitals where the use
of antibiotics would be banned, and any patients who needed them would be
transferred to an antibiotic-using hospital. Doctors from these hospitals would
not be allowed to enter hospitals which use antibiotics.
"At the same time we could trial the benefits of using 'good' bacteria to
saturate the skin on doctors' hands and even patients' wounds prior to surgery,
to see if this would prevent the settling of pathogenic, antibiotic-resistant
bacteria. For instance, a surgeon who has spent the morning repeatedly scrubbing
his or her hands in an operating theatre may well have got rid of many harmless
skin commensals. When the surgeon then goes to the wards, the more virulent
bacteria may settle into the areas left vacant. As a first step, the surgeon
could use probiotics to try and prevent this sequence of events, for example by
dipping their hands into a probiotic substance such as yoghurt."
About UCL
Founded in 1826, UCL was the first English university established after Oxford
and Cambridge, the first to admit students regardless of race, class, religion
or gender, and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and
medicine. In the government's most recent Research Assessment Exercise, 59 UCL
departments achieved top ratings of 5* and 5, indicating research quality of
international excellence.
UCL is the fourth-ranked UK university in the league table of the top 500 world
universities produced by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. UCL alumni include
Mahatma Gandhi (Laws 1889, Indian political and spiritual leader); Jonathan
Dimbleby (Philosophy 1969, writer and television presenter); Junichiro
Koizumi(Economics 1969, Prime Minister of Japan); Lord Woolf (Laws 1954 - Lord
Chief Justice of England & Wales), Alexander Graham Bell (Phonetics 1860s -
inventor of the telephone), and members of the band Coldplay.
About the Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England The Annals is the
official journal of The Royal College of Surgeons of England and is published
bimonthly in January, March, May, July, September and November. The main aim of
the journal is to publish high-quality peer-reviewed papers that relate to all
branches of surgery. The Annals also includes letters, comments, a regular
technical section, the best trainee presentations from England and Wales, book
reviews and a surgical website review forum. The Annals editorial committee
comprises members of the College Council, trainees and experts from across the
surgical specialties. Each subscription to the Annals includes 10 issues per
year of the Bulletin of The Royal College of Surgeons of England with news of
College events and discussion of topical surgical issues.
Judith H Moore
judith.moore@ucl.ac.uk
University College London
http://www.ucl.ac.uk
Back to News