Adverse effects of hand sanitizers?

I routinely suggest hand washing over hand sanitizers, any day. Good old soap and water are better at washing away viruses and other debris.

I use them all: wipe, foam & jell form. Yes, they cause dryness. But so does proper hand-washing. I wash my hands more than 10times a day. My child does this 3–5 times a day (more if we leave the home).

On my son (age 4) I use Cetaphil lotion, and if he gets cracked hands lanolin to prevent and ease this issue.

My favorite wipes are the Equate ones from Wal-Mart. They’re cheap, the quality is good, and the wipes hold up to vigorous scrubbing.

That said, if money isn’t an object, Purell’s products are all superb. We have the huge canisters of wipes in our cars, the foam in my purse & at my husband’s office, and the gel pumps are put out for our son to use (especially if he’s ill).

Agreed, hand washing with good old soap works just as well. But also, how much it helps you from not catching the flu, I’m not sure of since you still have to breath every day and the flu travels by air as well.

Hand sanitizers kill “99.9% of all germs”, the .1 percent are the resistant bacteria which then survive and reproduce, making them more abundant through natural selection and spreading illness faster.

Hand sanitizers, especially individually wrapped ones (sorry environment), are so convenient when you are away from a sink and soap.

Its best not to wash your hands altogether. By not washing your hands it helps your immune system gain immunity and prevents skin rot. – personal theory

@Samurai You really don’t wash your hands?

@jazzjeppe The majority of contagious illnesses such as the flu or colds are contracted via direct hand to mucous membrane contact (i.e. virus coated hand rubs eyes, scratches nose, or puts food into mouth). H1N1 is not nearly as contagious via the aerosol route.

@Zen I don’t recall the last time I washed my hands with soap, I’m sure I would if I had to operate on someone though. Not that I’m a doctor.

@Samurai I cannot tell you how much I’m sickened by the thought that individuals don’t wash on purpose.
My husband became very ill with meningitis. The most likely cause? Someone that touched their computer keyboard with out washing hands after going to the bathroom. (He’s a computer geek, and washes his hands religiously now—he washed them well before he contracted meningitis, too. Apparently not well enough after one disgusting office visit to a client, though)

@SpatzieLover Not to derail, but what kind of meningitis? Few forms of meningitis are transmitted that way.

I agree with the general consensus: hand sanitizer if you’re out and about and there’s not sink + soap available, but if you’re at home or near a sink + soap, use that.

(I really like Dr Bronner’s soap for at home…it gets my hands squeaky clean without anything weird in it.)

@SpatzieLover Yeah, I see how that could be deadly to others and yourself. I do wash my hands and body with plain water though. As how the cavemen did it.

@shilolo He was treated for both viral & bacterial (ER doc did a bad spinal tap—hit red blood cells) so we never found out. However, two doctors had suggested the keyboards at the filthy company were most likely the cause.

(He would NEVER use the bathrooms at this place because he knew how disgusting they were. He did use Purell in his car after the visit, but it was probably too late)

We had gone over what he had done in the few days before he contracted “The worst headache of his life” and the high fever which spiked to around 105 degrees the morning we drove him to the ER

Getting drunk from licking your hands?

Welcome to fluther @Samurai! Have some lurve on me!

I don’t like to over use anti-bacterial products. I have read numerous times that it contributes to the development of the super-bugs which are proving to be more and more resistant to our medical weaponry.

But when soap and water isn’t available, I do use it. I never feel really clean afterwards though.

I think hand sanitizers are only effective on picnics. Every time you touch anything touched by another person you pick up germs. This includes elevator buttons, handrails, leaning on the counter in a coffee shop or picking up the cream of sugar shaker, turning on a lamp in a hotel room, ringing someone’s doorbell, etc. None of these things are really every “sanitized.”

You would have to use this stuff after you touched every single thing you need to touch to conduct your life.

An interesting article on hand washing http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/19/why-hand-washing-may-be-your-best-medicine/?pagemode=print

i don’t use hand sanitzers. the thought of putting something alcohol based which would have to be drying to the skin, and then leaving it on, to me is gross. i wash my hands with soap and water whenever i have the chance, and i don’t touch my hands to my face when i’m out. i’m very into washing my hands, especially after eating, and i can’t stand the feeling of my hands being dirty or sticky. i’m kind of neurotic about it, actually.

@jca Hands2GO from Water Journey is the perfect portable antibacterial you can feel good about using anywhere, anytime. Our patented alcohol-free instant hand sanitizer is gentle enough for children, the elderly, highly sensitive skin and frequent use on the job.

Here’s their link and I’m sure that many others are alcohol-free.

:-)

http://www.waterjourney.com/

I use a hand sanitiser at all times, but only since the advent of Swine Flu. It doesn’t dry skin out – perhaps as it has vitamin E oil in it to prevent that. It is one of the more expensive brands, but I am happy with it. There are many situations where simple soap and water is not available or not convenient – the little pocket sized bottles of sanitiser are great in such situations. I also have a supply of Japanese nose (nostril) filters for when you don’t want to offend by wearing an obvious face mask.

I use the Hands2Go, which @Zen linked. It’s very rare that I use it, but it is convenient when out with a toddler, for immediate use if no bathroom is available. I’m not a big handwasher, but I don’t want to get sick so I’m trying to get on top of it during the sickies season.
I think excessive use of hand sanitizer is bad. I personally think germs are good for you, but not the sort of germs that are going around currently. Everyone I know is getting over having some sort of nasty illness, no one was immune to it.

@Samurai I do wash my hands and body with plain water though. As how the cavemen did it. “Cavemen” had a probable life expectancy of 20 years. Not something to aspire to.

@syz I would rather live a short prosperous life then try to prolong it.

Do not use in replace of jelly.

@Samurai Live long and prosper.

@Zen You must really be a treky fan.

@Samurai Zen…A Treky Fan? No..??.. No, I doubt that.

I am one of the stubborn dorks that stand firm, and scared, that most hand sanitizers kill the good germs as well as bad, so I don’t use them. I am pretty anal about soap and water though. Being a smoking, nail-biting clean freak, hand washing is a must. And it must work somewhat because I haven’t been sick in almost a year. (KNOCK ON WOOD)

@Clair Touch wood.

@Zen That’s so strange, never heard that.

Q] From Mike Gast: What is the origin and true meaning of knock on wood or touch wood?

[A] To touch wood or knock on wood is a superstition action to ward off any evil consequences or bad luck, perhaps because of some recent action you’ve taken or untimely boasting about your good fortune (“I’ve never been in danger of drowning, touch wood”); it can also be a charm to bring good luck.

Source (and a great way to learn etymology): http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-tou1.htm