Antibiotic-resistant infections are hard to stop. As a result, they often end up killing the people they infect. One study found they were responsible for more than one million deaths every year worldwide between 1990 and 2021.

Deaths from antibiotic resistance are projected to increase to more than two million every year by 2050.

An international team of researchers recently published an editorial in Environmental Science and Technology warning that antimicrobial compounds, or biocides, added to consumer products are contributing to this rise in antimicrobial resistance.

Antimicrobial compounds provide no added protection against bacteria and viruses and do more harm than good.

“Global antimicrobial resistance strategies have focused on hospitals and farms while overlooking everyday products used in homes that may contribute to resistance,” the senior author of the editorial, Miriam Diamond, told TheDoctor.

Our use of antimicrobial or antibacterial products increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. These products contain biocides known as quaternary ammonium compounds and chloroxylenol that do not provide added protection against bacteria and viruses and actually do more harm than good.

“When we use products containing these compounds that have no benefits, we risk throwing the next few generations under the bus with widespread antimicrobial resistance,” Diamond, a professor of earth sciences at the University of Toronto, explained. It's not that these products are overused — they should not contain biocides in the first place.

Hospitals and agricultural settings affecting food safety are the only appropriate places for biocide use. Products labeled as antimicrobial or antibacterial such as disinfectant sprays, wipes and soaps for everyday use in the home, the gym and public spaces should be avoided. “It's typical marketing, exploiting people's fears about bacteria!” Diamond said.

Products labeled as antimicrobial or antibacterial such as disinfectant sprays, wipes and soaps should be avoided. If you want to use a hand sanitizer, it should be alcohol-based.

There are safer alternatives for cleaning or sanitizing, including hydrogen peroxide and alcohol-based products. These kill more bacteria and viruses than antimicrobials and don't remain on surfaces as long as biocides.

The best way to get rid of bacteria is by washing your hands with soap and warm water for a minute, Diamond explained. If you want to use a hand sanitizer, it should be alcohol-based.

Biocides are not only ineffective, they also harm human health and the environment. They enter the environment directly or through wastewater treatment plants, where they contribute to the spread of antimicrobial resistance and pose a risk to ecosystem biodiversity.