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Hand soap recalled for potential contamination of antibiotic-resistant bacteria
(www.ksnblocal4.com)
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this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2026
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I never understood the whole "bacteria can't develop resistance to soap" argument. All multi-cellular life that currently exists and that can handle soap came from single-celled life that at some point developed the ability to survive contact with soap. And while soap might have been an extreme pressure, even extreme pressures can lead to adaptations. Like there are trees that not only are fine with forest fires but even depend on them to thrive, so even fire isn't too big of a pressure for life to adapt to.
We are a species that consumes alcohol for fun. Hell, we consume hot peppers, a fruit specifically evolved to discourage mammals from eating it by causing extreme discomfort, also for fun. Life, ah, finds a way.
No, detergent has the same effects on your cells as it does bacterial cells. The main way soap works is by dissolving the lipid bilayer of your epidermal cells and allowing them to be washed away, along with anything stuck to them, like dirt. In order to survive in soap, the bacteria would need to survive in basic environments and survive contact with (primarily) sodium stearate. I don't know precisely how that develops, but it isn't like "magically all multicellular life is immune to the effects of sodium stearate on the lipid bilayer"