In 2009, when Sam was a college freshman, the AH1N1 pandemic led to a lot of class suspensions. When classes finally resumed, there was a new fixture in all school entrances next to the security personnel — hand sanitizers. When Alex took the entrance exam at the same school, we stayed at the school’s hotel and there were hand sanitizers on every floor in front of the elevators.
Well, hand sanitizers have become so popular that they now come jazzed up with different scents.
This set of fruit-scented hand sanitizers is from my mother. She keeps us supplied with cosmetics and toiletries because I think she overflows with them every Christmas when the gifts come pouring. So, every year, the girls and I have a supply of lotions, soaps, liquid soaps… even bath foam.
Anyway, back to hand sanitizers. In restaurants, I’ve often seen diners, mostly women, take a small bottle of hand sanitizer from their purses and proceed to apply and rub the gel on their hands before eating. On the road, when kids get their hands dirty from eating or handling dirty objects, I’ve seen mothers make them rub sanitizer on their hands as though that will get rid of the dirt.
The thing is, hand sanitizers are meant to kill bacteria and prevent their transmission. They are not a substitute for washing the hands when the hands are visibly dirty. It is meant as an antiseptic — it is not meant to remove dirt. I mean, hand sanitizers are okay for removing dirt if you have something to wipe your hands with afterward. But to just apply the gel and rub your hands together without wiping off… isn’t that just moving and displacing the dirt to some other spot on your hands? Isn’t that like going through the ritual of cleaning the hands without actually cleaning them?
Personally, I prefer wet wipes over hand sanitizers. Especially when traveling. When we went on that road trip to Baguio all the way to Laoag, I packed a dozen packets of wet wipes, always kept one in my bag, and I supplied Speedy, Sam and Alex with them. In addition, Speedy always has a bottle of rubbing alcohol in the car and a pack of tissue paper.
From what I’ve read, for a hand sanitizer or wet wipe to kill 99.9% of bacteria, it must contain at least 70% alcohol. If the alcohol level is too low (below 60%), well, it’s probably good for making your hands smell good and nothing much else.
Of course, there’s nothing like a good hand wash. Without being like Jack Nicholson’s character in As Good As It Gets, naturally.
Read 
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It’s been a fashionable item even before the AH1N1 pandemic but it became a craze afterwards.
Though I still prefer to carry a bottle of rubbing alcohol than hand sanitizers because most leave a sticky feeling on the hands. You just have to read the label before buying one because it may smell good but if it doesn’t have 70% alcohol it’s no good.
I use both types of hand sanitizers. I prefer keeping the individually-wrapped wipes in my purse. One thing I do unless I am in a nice restaurant, I immediately wipe down the table top with a wipe. You would be shocked at how filthy the tables are. Many times I get black off of the tables they are so dirty.
Since I have been doing this I have not had colds, bronchitis etc. and I don’t think it is a coincidence.
Adrian Monk comes to mind. Hehe. :)
That character has more phobias than I can count hahahaha
I prefer wet wipes over hand sanitizers as well, as the latter tends to make my hands feel sticky(and I think hand sanitizers are overpriced for such small containers). Plus, I use 70% solution of alcohol all the time. :)
This is very interesting and makes me look at a bar of soap differently. I guess same goes with dish washing paste. I prefer alcohol rather than sanitizer gels as well. Here’s an interesting read about soap being “self cleaning”.
http://www.slate.com/id/2156843/
I clicked the link and I found the part about transient and resident bacteria on the hands intriguing. Reminds me of the belief of some people that being too clean makes a person more susceptible to ordinary diseases like colds. The reasoning is boosted with the seemingly observable fact that children living in slums are more resilient toward common diseases.
Jhay, Alcogel, I think was the first local brand to hit the market…??
Lynda, re “I immediately wipe down the table top with a wipe…” I should do that next time and take photos if the wipes show dirt.
Madz, re “hand sanitizers are overpriced”
I agree. Manufacturers really capitalize on panic caused by pandemics like the AH1N1.
I like the idea of wet wipes. I used to carry around an alcogel too (it became a generic term for me, sort of like using “colgate” when you mean toothpaste) but my husband pointed out that it’s not really making things clean. I switched to a small bottle of alcohol instead.
The hand sanitizer gel has become more of a cosmetic than antiseptic. You know, make the hands smell good.
my hand sanitizer moonlights as a bag bling. I use the fruity smelling fads to just smell good, i dont really trust it when I prepare to eat.. good old soap and water will always be my trusted routine.. heck i even think i get poisoned if i use alcohol before eating.. that’s just me though.. ehhehe
“heck i even think i get poisoned if i use alcohol before eating”
Naku, ha, shades of OC hehehehe
In hospitals here in the U.S. they have hospital-grade antiseptic foam that you rub your hands with, ideally before and after entering ANY patient room. So it is acceptable practice provided that the content kills bacteria. Bacteria (and virus) is what cause disease. Dirt in itself really doesn’t, unless the person is immuno-compromised.
However, like you said, there is really no substitute for handwashing with liquid soap, not a bar of soap. The mechanical action of washing away the bacteria is superior in both removing the bacteria and removing dirt. In hospitals, best practice is to use hand foam before and after, but then wash hands if there is visible dirt.
As well, there are certain disease-causing microorganisms that cannot be removed by antibacterial foam, but only by mechanical washing; en example of this is the bacteria clostridium difficile, which can cause hard-to-beat infections.
Here’s an instructive study.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070920111350.htm
We were drilled as students that the number one infection-prevention technique is to wash our hands with liquid soap for at least 10 secondsm and preferably with warm water.
Personally, I handwash with liquid soap before and after a meal and that is all (in a hospital, hand foam and then wash hands as well).
Forgive the long post, I’m very passionate about infection prevention techniques :)
Wait, wait! Why not a bar of soap? You really got me hooked on that part.
We have liquid soap beside all the sinks in the house — bathrooms, powder room, kitchen… But it’s mostly for convenience as soap bars gather dust when unused (especially true in the guest powder room) while liquid soap stays clean inside the bottle.
But in terms of killing bacteria, why is liquid soap preferable? :)
it’s more about chances of transferring , and most significantly, growing bacteria.
bar soap might sit in a pool of water and pools of water are a great medium for bacterial growth. alternatively, it can dry out and grow fissures to which more bacteria can reside in and grow. it may not matter as much because you think you’ll be washing it away with lather and water but microscopically speaking, a bar of soap has a lot more bacteria on it. and because people aren’t always that dilligent in their hand-washing, they retain more bacteria than when washing with liquid soap that didn’t sit out there for everybody to grab and rub all over their hands, before putting back.
I’m gonna add an important addendum. I believe hand washing the way the Center for Disease Control advocates is best. If you’re doing this with regular bar of soap, you should be fine.
From the CDC:
Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold) and apply soap.
Rub your hands together to make a lather and scrub them well; be sure to scrub the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
Continue rubbing your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice.
Rinse your hands well under running water.
Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.
(in hospitals, policy is usually 10-20 seconds)
I go on and on about this. It’s so important to wash hands. And I said before and after eating. Gross of me, I wash hands before and after touching anything dirty and especially after using the toilet!!
“bar soap might sit in a pool of water and pools of water are a great medium for bacterial growth.”
Oh, wow, I never considered that. And to think how soap dishes get clogged…
“alternatively, it can dry out and grow fissures to which more bacteria can reside in and grow.”
I always thought those fissures which turn dark after a while (I always thought is was from dust) was icky… but I never considered that bacteria would actually be living inside them.
Thank you, thank you!
I prefer wet wipes, i got two young kids who always have sticky hands..my 3yr old calls it magic wipe and refuses to use plain tissue, if u hand her a bottle of hand sanitizer, the gel would most likely fall off even before she could rub it in her hands..they love the foam ones in the mall though and would stop by at every station to sanitize but mommy’s magic wipe is still their first choice esp in the car..when my son was in kindergarten, everytime the teachers would see them touching their mouth or nose they would be asked to wash their hands..accdg to the teacher by doing this, the kids are being taught abt cleanliness and at the same time, kids being lazy sometimes they would stop picking their nose or putting their fingers in their mouth so they don’t have to be sent to the washroom again and again..
This product i want in my house–http://www.lysol.com/cleaning-products/healthy-hands/no-touch-hand-soap-system
I am not really a fan of those scented hand sanitizers, they burn my nose. I much prefer those alcogel from bench. but I also always have alcohol in a spritz bottle and wet wipes.