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If you ride public transportation, it is more than likely that antibacterial hand sanitizer is as handy as your cellphone.

Popularly seen as a convenient alternative to soap and water (unless of course you commute by metro north), antibacterial products such as soaps, tooth paste, mouthwash and sanitizers are a given standard in toiletry purchases. As is the course with what seems like all useful products a new label warning may come with these products: New research now shows that antibacterial products may weaken muscle function.  

According to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a common chemical in antibacterial products, triclosan - which can be found in soaps, toothpastes and mouthwashes - was found to impair muscle function in lab and animal tests.

Researchers from the University of California, Davis, found that when human muscle cells were exposed to triclosan from the heart and elsewhere they discovered that the chemical interrupted cellular communication necessary for muscle contraction.

Scientists then exposed mice and fathead minnows to the chemical to see what would happen: after a single dose, the exposed mice showed 25% reduced heart muscle function and 18% reduced grip strength. In the fish, which were exposed to as much triclosan as would be expected in a week in the wild, the chemical led to poor performance in swimming tests that simulated escape from a predator.

A recent article published in the Smithsonian asserts:

" [When]] triclosan penetrates the skin and enters the bloodstream more easily than previously thought, and has turned up everywhere from aquatic environments to human breast milk in troubling quantities."

Though the United States Food and Drug Administration determined that the chemical was not harmful to humans, Time's HealthLand reports that the agency "is in the process of reviewing the safety of products containing triclosan." The findings are expected to be released at the end of the year.