Hand Sanitizers

[nothermark]

I was looking for some other information and ran into this article on hand sanitizers. Given the way they seem to be replacing soap in basic hygiene it seems appropriate to share the message:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/16/health...-toxic-upwave/

Bottom line is the non alcohol ones are of dubious value. I am also leary of using the toxic alcohols on skin on a regular basis.

[SilvrSurfr]

They say I need to wash with soap even under my nails - how do I manage that?

[Likeapuma]

A quick scrub with just water usually gets the dirt/grime off, then a dab of alcohol hand cleaner (usually stolen from my wife's stash of Bed Bath & Beyond)

I always wondered what hospital employees think of these studies... "Foaming in" to every patient room they enter.

24 seconds doesn't sound so bad. For the 4 months my daughter stayed at a NICU, we were required to wash our hands for 3 minutes every time we entered.

[gmcttr]

They say I need to wash with soap even under my nails - how do I manage that?

With a nail brush of course.

[Thumbs]

One thing nice about hand sanitizer is that the empties make nice containers for alcohol fuel. Bought a 3 pack at the dollar sore and have 3 2oz fuel bottles now.

[swoody126]

IMHO...

sanitizers are for killin germs, they don't clean

soap is for cleaning

too much attention is being given to sanitizers and sterile

and we have forgotten the simple act of washing, when we are dirty

look back in time, when kids played outside, got dirty, ate mud pies, fell off their toys, got bunged up and so on...

we washed up with soap n water, covered open wounds, splinted broken bones and went on

for me n mine, we use simple soap n water

http://www.drbronner.com/

http://jrliggett.com/

at home as well as on the trail

this opinion will, no doubt, raise a lot of discussion

let the fun begin

[frenchycamp]

IMHO...

sanitizers are for killin germs, they don't clean

soap is for cleaning

too much attention is being given to sanitizers and sterile

and we have forgotten the simple act of washing, when we are dirty

look back in time, when kids played outside, got dirty, ate mud pies, fell off their toys, got bunged up and so on...

we washed up with soap n water, covered open wounds, splinted broken bones and went on

for me n mine, we use simple soap n water

http://www.drbronner.com/

http://jrliggett.com/

at home as well as on the trail

this opinion will, no doubt, raise a lot of discussion

let the fun begin

+1. we live in a sterile world (in all sense).
Isn't it why we escape to the woods?
Sterile is for the O.R
Dirt is for the backcountry.

[nothermark]

I recall a friend of mine went through some kind of hand washing training where they sprayed his hands with a dye he had to scrub off. When he thought he was done they hit his hands with UV and the remaining die was quite illuminating. Getting rid of the dirt is not as simple as a quick rinse and rub. If you want an extreme on the other end google surgical hand scrub. There are several video's.

I'm not a big fan of sanitizer soaps or a lot of the sterile environment nonsense. I am concerned that people are trying to short cut basic soap and water hand washing by using chemical sanitizers that do not really clean the dirt that carries the microbes we want to avoid. I have to wonder how many times we blame bad water on bad sanitation. I also think there are techniques for how to do things that minimize the chances of problems. My real question is whether or not it will get discussed and folks will learn something. ;-)

[VictoriaGuy]

IMHO...

sanitizers are for killin germs <snip>
for me n mine, we use simple soap n water
<snip>

at home as well as on the trail

this opinion will, no doubt, raise a lot of discussion

let the fun begin

+1
Pouring all those 'antibacterial' chemicals into the environment couldn't be connected to the evolution of 'superbugs', could it??

[SilvrSurfr]

With a nail brush of course.

Of course, but who carries one around? Think of all the bacteria under them nails!