Preoperative bathing and cleansing are important to prevent surgical site infections. Preoperative bathing is considered good clinical practice to clean the body before surgery, reducing the number of bacteria on the skin, especially in the surgical area.

When shopping for soaps and body washes, you may have seen products labeled “antibacterial” and chosen them in the hope that they would keep your family safer. You may have thought that these products would reduce your risk of getting sick, spreading germs, or getting an infection. But do antibacterial soaps really provide such benefits?