Hand Sanitizers
I’ve seen so many people not using these things correctly that I thought it deserved a blog post. When in China we will all be using these after using a public bathroom, as many bathrooms do not have sinks, and even if they do there will likely not be any soap. Also, many restaurants do not have sinks or soap available, and after a day of sightseeing or even sitting in a Civil Affairs office, I think hand sanitizer is better than nothing at all before you begin eating. (And, as has been pointed out in the comments, even if you wash your hands, the water is likely not clean so you’ll still want to use hand sanitizer even if you do have an opportunity to wash the grime off of your hands.)
Here is what I’ve been told about hand sanitizers:
- They need at least 15 seconds of being “wet” on your hands. Wipe and rub back and forth for 15 seconds.
- The evaporation process is an important part of the process, don’t wipe dry, let it evaporate. The wet part of the process breaks down cell walls, the evaporation process dehydrates the cell and kills the organism. If you wipe dry you don’t complete the process. You should spend another 10 to 15 seconds holding your hands out and letting it all evaporate.
- Children do not have to consume very much of it in order to get serious alcohol poisoning. Keep it away from kids when not being used, and carefully supervise when it is being used. If you suspect your child has ingested hand sanitizer and is acting strange, get medical help immediately.
- There are some things that hand sanitizer will not kill, including at least one fairly common bug that causes diarrhea. (C. difficile) Something about it being a spore and not a virus or germ. If you can’t wash your hands after a BM diaper then you may want to do a combination of wiping them well with a wipe and following up with sanitizer AND keeping your hands away from your mouth and your child’s mouth (and your child’s hands if they put their hands in their mouth).
- Soap and water are said to be much better than hand sanitizer at removing germs and viruses and spores from your hands. If you have access to soap and clean water, use it. Only use hand sanitizer when it is the only option.
And finally, I used the GermX wipes on the plane as I figured that would be easier to get through security since it doesn’t have to be declared as a liquid. I really liked them and I’ve continued to keep them in the diaper bag to wipe down shopping carts and public highchairs. Also, when there is actual dirt on hands I use the wipes instead of the gel.
But, again, the biggest thing that I see people doing that drives me crazy, is wiping off their hands after using the gel or liquid sanitizers. I’m told that it is the evaporation process that actually kills most of the germs, let it evaporate!
October 24th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
Yes, soap and water is more effective at killing germs and viruses than is hand sanitizer. However, as you know, in China the tap water is not clean to begin with, so hand sanitizer gel or wipes may be your best bet while in China.
October 24th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
Excellent point, I used hand sanitizer even after washing my hands in China.
And I used it everytime I ate. Period.
I guess this article is talking about two issues and I got them confused with each other. The first being optimal use in China and the second being optimal use at home.
October 24th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Above is mentioned hand sanitizer gel, wipes, and GermX wipes. Maybe RQ or someone could describe, to us non-Americans, exactly what these are, and what they should contain, so that we get the right types. I use in my car some wet wipes, however I do not know what these contain. I don’t think either that I have never seen any type of gel (so these come with wipes?).
October 24th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
During a business trip to China, we went through several bottles of hand sanitizer and I jokingly called it China Juice. The name stuck and that’s what DH and I now call it. I strongly recommend making liberal use of it here and in China.
October 24th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
This is what is in my house, out of reach of children, used to refill the small bottles. We don’t use this at home, since we have soap and water available, but it’s cheaper in large quantities so I buy the big container and refill the small ones when they get low:
This is what is in my purse and diaper bag:
And this is the wipes I keep in the diaper bag for shopping carts and public high chairs, and is what I took on the plane. I take them out of the hard shelled container and put them in a ziplock bag, though.
October 24th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
Guangdong,
“Purell” is a good hand sanitizer gel. It comes in all size bottles, so you can easily stick one in your diaper bag or purse. Also, “Wet Ones” makes a good anti-bacterial hand wipe. Unfortunately, I do not have either of this products at home right now, so I am not sure of the ingredients. I would, however, guess that many of these sanitizers contain alcohol to kill germs.
October 24th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
A great post RQ. I sometimes get in a hurry and wipe off the sanitizer. Certainly glad to find out the proper method for use as flu season will soon be upon us.
October 24th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
I should also note that we carried plenty of the stuff in the bottles with us to China, but it went into our checked luggage, so we didn’t have it on the plane.
RK thought I packed too much sanitizer and wanted to toss about half of it when we were trying to get under the weight limits, but we kept it all and still came very close to running out. Not that I’d ever point that out to him after the fact, of course.
October 24th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
That’s funny, RQ, my husband thought the same thing, yet he was always asking for the sanitizer while we were in China!
Also, we brought 2 bottles of mouthwash with us and used it in place of water when brushing our teeth.
October 24th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
In my country, people are warned against using anti-bacterial soap/oil etc for normal use. The reason is that our bodies actually need a certain amount of bacterias for the immune system to develop. Bacterias are not dangerous. In fact, people (and children) who overdo the use of these, get more often sick, not less.
However, in a foreign country, I see very well the point in using these. I think I will buy them for my China trip.
October 24th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
I use Purell also, my youngest as Leukemia so everywhere I go I use the wipes, food cart, door handle, chairs, tables ect. I also use it at work to clean my work environment so I don’t bring anything home. Our new way of life. My youngest knows very well on how to wash her hand with soap at home.
October 24th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
Waiting in Canada,
So sorry about your child. Sending good thoughts your way.
October 24th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
We have been dealing with it for almost 2 years, but for us it’s a way of life. She is very well and we are always, always…always positive peoples.
So positive that even with a LID of 2007 we are positive to have a 3 daugters in 2009. HIHIHIHI….Can go wrong with positivity………:)
October 24th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
Guangdong - we have the warnings about antibacterial soap as well, and I don’t have any of it in my home.
But, hand sanitizers are different, to be used when you need to wash your hands and cannot.
October 24th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
I don’t see it mentioned here, and most of the name brands are fine, but the hand sanitizers must be at least 62% alcohol to be effective.
I sometimes squirt out way too much, or so I thought, I guess that was a good thing!
Thanks for the info!!
October 24th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Quote for RQ
“Something about it being a spore and not a virus or germ”
C. diff is a bacteria and therefore is a “germ”. The spore is inside the C. diff bacteria. Germs…..those can be classified as virus, bacteria, yeast, parasite and fungus. The bacteria that causes Antharax also has a spore. Okay…enough microbiology lessons for today…..:)
October 24th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
Excellent advice RQ…thank you so much…CTG…
October 24th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
I had the longest (1+ month) and one of the worst colds of my life after getting back from getting our daughter in China last January so pay heed to whatever safeguards you can when you travel there.
October 24th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
Thanks RQ! That was really interesting! It reminds me of when my SIL took my niece on her first trip - on a train ride halfway across the country. The video taped a lot of the trip, and the first 10 minutes of the video was of my SIL wiping every single thing in their cabin down with those wipes! :)
A question (for you or anyone who knows) - I won’t need this information for awhile (darn 2006 LID!). But I want to save it for when we do travel. Is there a way to save posts or mark them as “favorites”? (other than just printing them out!) THANKS! :)
October 24th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
maranara - you have a couple of options for saving posts as favorites. You can use your “favorites” or “bookmarks” that your browser provides, or you can save them as a PDF and stick them all into a folder on your hard drive somewhere. My personal favorite for making PDF’s is PDF Redirect
http://www.exp-systems.com/
It works like a print driver, so you tell it to print to it and then it walks you through where you want to put the PDF.
Or, if you at some point want to just read through travel tips, then you can click the Travel Tips category here on the blog and it will just go through all of the blog postings that have travel tips in them.
October 24th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Great suggestion for taking the wipes in your carryon. We carried the small bottles in our ziplock bags without incident from our hometown to Minneapolis, to Beijing, to Nanning, and to Guangzhou. But when we left Guangzhou they confiscated ALL of our small GermX bottles, saying they were flammable liquids. I could feel my germ-o-phobic panic setting in until I remembered that I did have some little individual packets of the hand-sanitizing wipes in the diaper bag. We had just enough to make it home.
October 24th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
Ok, thanks RQ. So now I’ll just have to find out what these hand satitizers are called in my country. :-)
October 24th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Just don’t overdo it at home (unless you have a medical need). I think some people use hand sanitizers WAY too much. They are just as bad as anti-bacterial soap.
From infectioncontroltoday.com:
“While many healthcare professionals recognize the benefits of the use of antimicrobial agents, some express concern that the pervasiveness of these agents could trigger resistance. Some scientists believe the use of antibacterial-laced products in the home could compromise the battle against microorganisms in hospitals. While antibacterial agents have their place in a clinical setting, their indiscriminate use in the home could jeopardize individuals’ ability to fight off bacterial infections. Scientists are concerned that antibacterial agents will select the bacteria resistant to them and become cross-resistant to antibiotics. Also, if these antimicrobial agents affect an individual’s inherent microflora, they may affect the normal maturation of the body’s immune system and hamper the body’s ability to fight off infection.”
October 24th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
To Waiting in Canada - I am so sorry about your child with leukemia. Where is she being treated? My 5 year old son is also a cancer survivor - high risk neuroblastoma. He has been in remission for 3.5 years now, and we now have a little girl from China. So, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
BTW, we used big canisters of hospital grade wipes back when he was in active treatment. We went through a lot of them…
October 24th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
amycate - I’ll say it again since I guess it wasn’t clear enough.
1. We do not use antibacterial soaps in our home.
2. We do not use hand sanitizers in our home. Soap and water are best, and we have those at home.
3. We only use hand sanitizers when soap and water are not available.
4. If you are going to use hand sanitizers, there is a right and wrong way to do it. I just wanted to talk about the right way to do it.
October 24th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
The other time I love hand sanitizers is when I am sick….If you are blowing your nose every two seconds it is a pain in the butt to wash your hands soooooo many times. This is the one time I do use hand sanitizers in my home.
October 24th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
RQ,
What about taking those little packets of soap leaves…they are very very thin slices of soap that almost look like a purse packet of tissues that could be used with bottled water?? maybe in addition to the gel.
October 24th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
Briellesmom - the reason washing works is because (in part) the soap makes everything slippery and then all of the water washes it off of your hands. That won’t happen if you splash some bottled water onto your hands to rinse off the soap. You have to have your hands under the water for at least thirty seconds, no way you can do that with bottled water, I don’t think.
As a side note, I make GG sing the ABC song when she washes her hands to make sure she washes them long enough.
October 24th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
antibacterial lotions have high alcohol content, in USA we have a lot of antibacterial soaps, washing hands with soap and water should be enough , but then again in the situation where there is no water , it is best to be prepared for this things
since it is by the hands that a lot of the germs get passed on.
Purell has Wipes,and in my opinion is a good choice. easy to pack, no problems with carrying tem on the plane and even compact enough to carry in your purse!!
October 24th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Hi-we loved hand sanitizer while we were in China-I much preferred to let my kids use it rather than risk them getting in the water-they each had a bottle in their bag so we were never without it-I also loved the anti-bacterial wipes-I also must say that I could not have made it without the small packs of kleenex for bathroom breaks for the kids-Thanks RQ for always sharing such valuable info-
Angel
http://www.journeytoannagrace.com
October 24th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Interesting. I don’t remember using much hand sanitizer while in China. I did use some wipes every once in while. I never had a problem finding soap and water though. I didn’t get sick either. The flu shot I got prior to travel must have helped!
October 24th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
I’m a total germ phobic (or whatever you call it!). I can’t stand it when bathrooms don’t have papertowels or don’t put the garbage can right by the door. (you know… need the towel to use to open the door… and throw it away as the door closes! Anyway, I love love love the sanatizers you can clip to your belt. I love the heavy dut black ones, but these are good too:
http://www.marketlabinc.com/products/details/1732
I like these too…
http://www.marketlabinc.com/products/details/1829
http://www.marketlabinc.com/products/details/1833
Only thing I don’t like is how sanatizers really dry out my hands. Any recommendations on this? I have tried anti bacterial moisturizing hand lotion from Bath and Body works, but in the winter, it just feels hopeless!
October 24th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
countingstars
I checked out the link…are you a med tech or do you just like buying lab equipment:)?
October 24th, 2007 at 8:05 pm
I don’t know if this has been mentioned, but hand sanitizer must have an alcohol concentration of 60% or greater to be effective. Evidently, there are hand sanitizers on the market containing only 40% and they don’t work. So, be sure check!
Here is a link from the CDC:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no03/05-0955.htm
October 24th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
jenele
nope, I’m a computer nerd. And don’t even get me thinking about the germs on keyboards or mice! It is amazing the stuff they come up with… hand sanatizer belt clips… sprayers that automatically spray antibacterial on door handles (oh how I would I love it if these were in more public bathrooms!)… ok… perhaps I do need to do something about this obsession…
October 24th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
How many of the purse size would you bring per adult? I’d rather pack too many than to run out.
Kim
LID 12-05-05 WOOHOO
October 24th, 2007 at 11:23 pm
countingstars
I worked in a mico lab….I can tell you exactly what was growing on our keyboards…its not pretty:) Okay…so maybe I shouldnt feed your obsession:)
October 25th, 2007 at 12:45 am
~If you beg really well, your doctor at home has the antibacterial gels with lotion and don’t dry your hands.
~They have foaming antibacterial gels now.
~I carry a small bit of water in a flip top bottle as well as liquid soap in a flip top bottle. Hence handwashing wherever you go. If you really wanna get fast, add the water to the soap give a shake and squirt, then clean with the antibacterial gel or rinse with your drinking water (distilled water stays fresh longer).
~ Finally, if you are SOL and there is nothing around to help you clean those grubbies, a midwife told me that as a last resort, rub your hands in good clean dirt (soil). She said it cleans better than you think. Sounds gross but if I were facing the nasty sickness, I’d go for the old wife’s tale anyday. And this is a serious last resort. Heck it might actually remind you to keep the hands away from your child’s and your faces.
October 25th, 2007 at 6:28 am
I have to chime in on this one as my entire family picked up a parasite in Mexico that made my son very very ill for a long long time. With the type of parasite my son had ( a protozoa) no amount of soap, water hand sanitizer or otherwise can kill it. Most experts say the act of wiping your hands is more effective at removing germs (in this case parasites) than the water or soap. I guess the thing to do is follow the method of evaporation and then after, even though your hands are dry, wipe your hands thoroughly with a cloth, becasue that’s the ONLY thinig that will remove the parasite my son had and other protozoa or amoeba.
October 25th, 2007 at 8:53 am
I can’t believe all the misconceptions about hand sanitizing gel! :) RQ, your blog post has it right and covers the most important points. I am an RN in one of the top US teaching hospitals (which has been promoting the hand gel for several years now), and hand sanitizer has been proven just as effective as soap and water in killing everything but c-diff. (The spores need to be washed off with soap and water). As for the statement that hand gels are “as bad as” antibacterial hand soaps, this is patently false. Bacterial hand soaps contain a chemical which may lead to changes in the bacteria and promote the development of drug restistant strains of bacteria, as well as kill healthy microbes in the environment.
Hand gel, on the other hand, is just alcohol and softeners. Does not promote any mutation of bacteria. Evaporates, so does not get into the environment and kill any beneficial bugs. So no, they are not “as bad” as antibacterial soaps and lotions.
The gels prevent the spread of infection. End of story.
The best way to do it is to wash your hands with soap and water, then use the gel. If you are dealing with a child with a suspected parasite or unexplained diarrhea in country, the safest thing to do (aside from the above) is to bring along disposable gloves. May look cold and institutional, but will be another layer of protection for the rest of the family.
And as RQ said, these gels can be very toxic if ingested, and it doesn’t take a lot for a small child to ingest a fatal amount of alcohol.
October 25th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
To Ratgirl..we are treated at the MCH…she is doing very well, and I m really happy to find out you already have your daugther. Our SW was not to sure about the whole situation of having a sick child in the home. We had to prove her wrong.. Yippi
October 25th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
I know this is after the fact- but i wanted to point out that hand sanitizers can be poisonous if ingested even in very small amounts. Be careful not to leave it around small children. I believe a little boy died from ingesting a small amount. We do use them when we need them at my house and we also have them in my classroom where I work. It is not always possible for the kids to leave the classroom every time one of them sneezes or coughs into their hands. The parents send it in- but I am a watch dog with the stuff- as it still worries me that someone may try to lick the stuff. (I work with 7-8 years olds- but a dare is a dare! ;) ) So- just keep an eye on small fries if you have this in your homes or in your hotel rooms!
October 26th, 2007 at 10:38 am
Be careful using them on children - sensitive skin can actually be burned by the stuff, to the point that it blisters.
October 27th, 2007 at 12:12 am
One thing it is good for is on the spot acne treatment. I received this tip from a friend and it actually works! Don’t use too much though… see point above with the blisters/raw skin
October 29th, 2007 at 8:22 am
Hand sanitizers do not kill any viruses. They only kill bacteria which is important to remember. Many people think they kill viruses. It is all in the alchohol, alcohol kills better than anything.
October 29th, 2007 at 8:27 am
One thing that works is chlorhexidine, if you can get it. Hospital stuff for anyone who workd in a hospital. Then again just use soap and water, no need to go crazy killing what people assume to be hoards of germs waiting to attack them at any moment.