Facts About Hand Sanitizers
Hand sanitizers serve as a major weapon against germs and bacteria. They save the day when you are outdoors or are in public and a bathroom isn't available nearby to wash your hands. Although these sanitizers are important to fight off germs, they also could cause problems if not used properly.
-
Ingredients
-
Hand sanitizers clean using their main ingredient: alcohol. This alcohol comes in two forms. Ethyl alcohol, also known as ethanol, is found in beer, liquor, perfumes and mouthwash. The second form of alcohol is isopropyl, found in rubbing alcohol used to loosen tense muscles. Alcohol concentrations vary from nearly 50 percent to 95 percent. Organic sanitizers are also available. One such product is CleanWell, which uses a mix of essential oils to kill germs.
Application
-
Hand sanitizers often come in pumps that dispense approximately 2.5 ml of the product. By rubbing this in your hands for approximately 30 seconds, it will eliminate the alcohol on the skin as it evaporates.
-
Effectiveness
-
Hand sanitizer, according to a University of Virginia study, was more successful in removing viruses from hands than simply washing them with soap. The study also determined that hand sanitizers with organic acid, such as citric acid, lowered the acidity on the hands and killed viruses up to four hours longer than alcohol-based products.
Reactions
-
According to the Centers for Disease Control, skin conditions caused by hand sanitizers are rare because in addition to alcohol these products contain moisturizers that protect and soothe skin. The CDC notes that alcohol-based hand sanitizers are gentler on skin that washing with soap and water.
Ingestion and Irritation
-
For children or adults, any amount of sanitizer ingested is not healthy, but for children it can be very dangerous. A 30-pound toddler who ingests eight pumps of the product, equivalent to 4 tsp., would become sick. However, the child's mouth would become irritated after the initial taste and may prevent her from ingesting additional sanitizer.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit washing hands image by Julia Britvich from Fotolia.com
