Hand Sanitizer, How Are People Wrongly Using It

You are correct, Montie. Using Anti-Bacterial this and Anti-Bacterial that kills off the good bacteria too, which aids in the fight of viruses; therefore SuperBugs are born. Good old regular soap and water should suffice.

For those of you that smoke and use the Anti-Bacterial hand gel, make sure your hands are completely dry of the substance before lighting your cigarette/cigar. I had heard that someone had lit their cigarette and the alcohol that was left on the person's hand began to start on fire. Not pleasant....

On the Morning News they demonstrated how easy Anti-Bacterial Sanitized Hand Gel can start on fire. They squeezed some into an ashtray and lit it......the flame burns blue. We could only see this once they turned some of the lights off in the Studio.

It is very possible. We have drug traces in our food and water supply which does not help either.

Slàinte,    

Patch   

Leelee thanks for passing that on. Catching fire would be horrible. I will pass this info on.

I was reading the contents and it does have a flamable warning along with do not store above 105 degrees, and it may discolor some fabrics. Harmful to wood finishes and plastics.

I found this under the label on the back where it says peel. I don't think I would of noticed this. This would really be awful. Will pass on the news.

Thanks again for pointing this out.

Slainte

I have learned that hand sanitizer makes for fun at work when ur bored and have a desk and a bottle of it and a lighter
I do remember one time last year it was rather cold in this old renivated hotel that the company I work for operates out of, and the thermostat was not working that night so it had gotten into about the 30's or 40's if not lower up here on a call floor. Not a pleasant feeling, although i'm sure working outside in colder temps are far worse.
Anywayz I got bored and poured some out onto the desk and lit it and i'll be darned if the stuff didn't burn for quite a while with no smoke whatsoever. So this guy here decides he's gonna warm his hands by the fire. Made for a fun and warming night after all hehe

Warning Kids do not try this at home. I am an adult but just not a grown up but do not follow my steps haha

No wonder your name is Shenaniganz!

Heh, heh, heh..... I can't believe you actually get away with it!!! Well at least you kept warm

I get away with a lot at work. check out a youtube video called carpet skates and you'll see what else we get into sometimes haha

Shenaniganz247 I had a peak, that looks like it would be a blast! The stairs looked a bit tricky. lol. Glad to know some people know how to have fun.

Slainte

Just back from the store and saw the new hand sanitizers that you don't touch you just stick your hand under and it goes. So guess my questions about the germs on the unit is answered. Oh, what money they are making on this stuff.

Slainte

It's my opinion that if you keep disinfecting your children, you'll have children with no immune systems because they've never had to fight anything off. Just keep them clean, not disinfected. My parents never used it, and I turned out fine. Looking further back, we've been on this earth for over 10,000 years without hand sanitiser, and here we all are just the same.

I totally agree with Old Raven.

Val

I don't use hand sanitizers at all.

coastman I think people that don't use them are wise. Very well said Old Raven!

I think it's more money making than the helping ourselves from germs. Seems like every hospital or old folks home I am in are strict about using them and it kind of makes me angry. Wonder what they'd say if you said "I can't use it I'm a alcoholic" I may try that to see what happens. lol.. It has to go into your bloodstream from your skin right???

Slainte

There was a study that confirmed Oldraven's hypothesis. Japan's penchant for everything clean and sanitary caused problems for people because of the lack of contact with germs suppressed the immune system's ability to fight off illness when it finally came in contact. Their immune system just could not cope with "new" illnesses. Whereas people that had taken a "rustic" approach to germs had the ability to overcome illnesses faster, if they became ill at all.

As a retired hospital administrator I can tell you that the use of hand sanitizer has scientific evidence that supports its use in health care settings. There are many more kinds of germs in these settings and it cuts the kinds of infections that patients get in a health care setting by up to 30%. However, it is used because healthcare workers were having a difficult time finding the time to wash their hands effectively. It is the washing of the hands with soap and water that is still the most effective method. This also kills germs, just like hand sanitizer, but doesn't have the side effect of drying out the skin as quickly. Drying out the skin can cause more germ growth as there are more places for the germs to hide.

We have many thousands of germs on our hands and they usually return in the same numbers at some point after you wash your hands. We also have these germs all over our bodies. Killing them on your hands just lowers the odds that you will infect yourself because eventually your hands with the germs will find their way into your eyes, nose, mouth, etc. making it more likely that you could have an infection. There are plenty more on you, so there are no endangered species caused by over use of soap and water or hand sanitizer.

There is some concern about the anti microbials that are used in other products sold for home use, in wipes and dishsoap, etc. They have not been shown to be more effective in reducing infections than use of products without them, and might, and I say might interfere with anti biotic effectiveness. I don't know of any solid studies on this yet. But you don't need the products, so...

There are some hand sanitizers without alcohol on the market now, GentleCare, Safe4hours, Soapopular are among the brands.

The alcohol in hand sanitizer evaporates within 5 seconds, so it is unlikely that you would be absorbing any unless you are soaking in it.

My advice is to wash your hands with your favorite soap and water often. Use lotion to keep your hands from drying out. Surgeons and their staff have been doing that for years and are among the healthiest of folks. There are probably many reasons for that, but they at least haven't killed themselves by over washing their hands and becoming immune to good germs.

If you don't have time to wash your hands, use the sanitizer. This only works if your hands are free of dirt and other particles.

I do not pretend to be an expert at this, just info I needed to know running the hospital.