I found an interesting article entitled Wound Care: An Emergency Room Doctor’s Perspective, by E.C.W., MD on Survivalblog.com. I don’t really doubt anything E.C.W says, but I would have liked to see more references and documentation. Particularly for statements like this…..
Plain soap and tap water have been shown to be just as good for washing the wound as an antiseptic soap and sterile water. It turns out that some of the antiseptic solutions available kill so much good tissue that they are not preferable to regular soap. I would recommend a liquid soap, to avoid the bacterial culture waiting to launch itself from the bar on the counter, but would avoid the “antibacterial soap” (with triclosan) widely available that has been shown to increase bacterial resistance. In a perfect world I would prefer Hibiclens, but would certainly use a “no-tears” baby shampoo (neutral solution) or even diluted Dawn. One could apply it to a clean washcloth wet from the tap and use it to gently scrub the wound.
Now I am instinctively distrustful of “antibacterial soap” so I don’t find that statement beyond belief. But I have to wonder if plain soap and tap water are as good as antiseptic soap and sterile water under all circumstances. Seems to me that you could have some very messy wounds where you would want to use a very powerful antibacterial soap.
Maybe the studies that the good doctor mentions examined the issue of messy/dirty wounds and still found regular soap to be just as good. But regardless, I would like to know more about those studies.
