Hi, my son's school will be installing Purell Hand Sanitizer dispensers around the building. Does anyone know if it is safe?

Nicole

none of the ingrediants seem to be harmful. If nobody can give you a straight answer then call them at 1-888-4PURELL and ask them.

Oh and do not let him use it all the time becasue him body will become accustomed to it and it will do him no good.

Lauren

I believe it to be gluten-free & ok.

I've never heard that before - how could alcohol stop working to kill germs? It's not at all the same process as bacteria acquiring resistance to antibiotics.


Jeanne

It is gluten-free, we have some around the house. We used to use it a lot, but it doesn't kill the really, really bad MRSA type of staph the school is probably thinking it kills, in fact, increases your resistance to antibiotics your body does need.

Using hand sanitiser is a false sense of cleanliness. Nothing can really replace washing with soap and water. I'd suggest asking the school to rethink their approach.

I totally agree with this. I do not think it is a coincidence that now that these products have gotten so popular we are seeing outbreaks of MRSA. I used to work in a school system and have seen teachers use these things then hand out treats instead of sending the kids to wash their hands. I also am sensitive to gluten grain alcohols and find that putting some of these products on my hands has the same skin effect that a gluten containing lotion will. The lines on my hands turn white on gluten contact and they do the same with these type products. Don't know for sure if it is gluten related but I avoid them for this reason also. They are also very drying to the skin.

Perhaps a scientist could chime in here, but, I think alcohol isn't the problem with bacteria's increasing resistance to antibiotics- anti-bacterials are. I work in a school and, while hand-washing (LONG hand-washing) is the best preventitive against contracting germs, it is not always feasible in a busy school day- in fact, it rarely is for both teachers and students! Alcohol sanitizers are nice to have as a "quick fix" at times when washing isn't possible.

Scientists? Thoughts?

lisa

Not a scientist but I agree, it is not that the sanitizers are increasing resistance but people are using them to replace handwashing. They should never be used as a replacement for handwashing if eating is going to take place. They don't clean like good old soap and water but they get used as a replacement for good sanitary procedures. These products have a place but I feel they are being way over used and giving people a false sense of safety.

The best way to clean your hands is with old fashioned soap and water. To get them really clean, you should wash them for as long as it takes you to sing Happy Birthday two times. Hand sanitizers should not replace hand washing but they do a very good job of killing germs if washing is not possible. Kids often do not wash their hands for a long enough period of time and, sometimes, for some kids, hand sanitizers may work better. It's better than nothing and, frankly, I think it's a great idea to use it peridically throughout the day. Hand sanitizers are mostly made up of alcohol - you cannot build up a resistance to them and they are not contributing to the resistance to antibiotics or the current few outbreaks of MRSA. The resistance to antibiotics is caused by people taking too many antibiotics, the fact that they were prescribed too frequently in the past and the fact that people sometimes would not finish the entire course. The majority of the population would test positive for MRSA if tested - many, many people carry it in their bodies with no symptoms and no problems. The people who are getting staph infections are getting it because they come into contact with the germ and have an open cut. The best prevention for MRSA and other infections? Hand washing. But, like I said, if that's not possible, hand sanitizers do a great job.

You're right, I mistyped. The hand sanitisers don't do anything re: resistance to antibiotics. The alcohol content help kills many germs, just not the bad MRSA ones we've been hearing about the news. My family has had issues with MRSA the last 2 years. Both my husband and son have had multiple MRSA infections, thankfully none of which have become septic resulting in hospitalization or IV antibiotics.

However, in our quest to superbug-proof our lives, we researched all sorts of products that could and couldn't kill MRSA. You'd be really surprised at the things that don't kill MRSA, such as Clorox wipes (and almost all the regular cleaning wipes you can buy in the store). Hand sanitisers and other regularly available products don't have a high-enough alcohol content to kill MRSA (but again, they do kill many other germs, including the SA staph strain).

What we did find that kills MRSA is a brand of cleaning products by a company called Viraguard as well as plain-old bleach + water as well as Lysol II spray.

My biggest worry is the same as everyone elses--that the hand sanitisers are being used as a substitute for hand washing. Thankfully, because hand sanitiser does nothing to remove gluten from one's hand, I've helped educate my daughter's teacher on the importance of actual hand-washing instead of using sanitiser as a substitute.

The MRSA germ is killed by bleach and water. The best way to avoid an MRSA infection is with old fashioned soap and water and washing for a long enough period of time (as long as it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice). If you know you might be in contact with someone with an MRSA infection (like someone in school), make sure you wash your hands very well and frequently and cover any open cuts or sores with a bandaid. If you aren't in a position to wash your hands frequently, hand sanitizers do a great job.

Yes! Hand-washing is best! As the daughter of a chemist and two parents who are great fans of good old-fashioned hand-washing ( and many other common sensical remedies for things) , I agree, that is what's best, and, yes, people do get a false sense of security from many things today including hand-sanitizers. (Don't get me started about cell phones...) But, hooray, they are a decent "quick fix". I've also read after using them twice?, three times? they lose effectiveness and you MUST wash your hands to regain it. Read that somewhere. Can't vouch for the veracity of it, but, I wash my hands ALL the bloody time when I can! And I DON'T hyper-clean my house. Soap and water, vinegar, baking soda and OCCASIONALLY bleach are my cleaning agents. Good to have a few germs around to help build up the old immune system I think. Good thread.

lisa

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers do kill a variety of germs-they also kill industrial floor wax. And when applied to an open wound or abrasion, introduce a significant risk of infection. Aside from the 2006 report from the US Poison Control Center that linked alcohol-based hand sanitizers to 12,000 cases of child-related alcohol-poisoning, the nature of the alcohol leads too many people to question why more stringent disclaimers aren't being imposed. With that said, one would have to get a confirmation from Purell or others that the alcohol is effective against MRSA, but there are a number of alcohol-free hand sanitizers that have been widely introduced and widely tested in terms of effectiveness against MRSA and other staph-related bacteria. One is called Soapopular--info can be found at http://www.soapopular.com or http://www.SoapyUSA.com

I'm not a scientist, but a manufacturer of an alcohol-free hand sanitizer called Soapopular. This product was introduced in Canada two years ago and was brought in to the US six months ago. Major retailers, including Target, are now carrying it. In addition, because school systems throughout the United States are systematically banning alcohol-based products, we've been inundated with requests---and providing free cases to any school that requests it. Effective against MRSA, C.diff and a wide range of other pathogens. For additional info, email me back--or visit http://www.soapopular.com

Your'son's school is in the minority at this point---many schools have been reacting to new media profiles throughout the past year highlighting the dangers of alcohol-based hand sanitizers--including a 2006 US Poison Control report profiling 12,000 cases of child-related alcohol poisoning directly attributable to alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Not popular.

Many school systems are now outright banning alcohol-based products, but otherwise leaving parents, teachers and kids without information i.e. alternatives. Worse still, the schools that are implementing alcohol hand sanitizer programs are relying on a 1996 report published by the US Centers for Disease Control which "recommend" alcohol-based gels when washing with soap and water isn't convenient. The rub with this report is that even educated administrators aren't reading past the first two paragraphs of the 47 page document. That recommendation report was written specifically for the hospital industry--and it clearly cautions against using alcohol-based products in a number of settings and not to be used in an attempt to combat a variety of pathogens. This 12-year old report made a minor mention about "introduction of alcohol-free products"--but said "not enough research to comment further"... As recently as October 2007, CDC spokesperson Kathleen Steward said "I wish they would take that information off the website--too many people are misinterpreting it.."
In the last 3 months, we've heard from schools, day care facilities and senior care facilities that have researched Soapopular's alcohol-free hand sanitizer and have requested it. Tell your son's school principal that we recently introduced a program to provide free cases to any school, and that we offer a wide variety of dispensing devices, including wall mounts. And we have more references than we can count. http://www.Soapopular.com is the primary site, and schools get 30% discounts automatically at www.soapyusa.com Alcohol-Free, Fragrance Free, Kid Friendly--antiseptic and hypoallergenic and the same germ killing efficacy as the legacy alcohol products

I've heard two conflicting, negative things about hand sanitizes.

One: In order to actually kill bacteria you would have to soak your hands in the hand sanitizer for several minutes.

Two: Hand sanitizers kill good AND bad bacteria. It is normal to have bacteria on your hands and good bacteria help to kill bad bacteria thus reducing natural defenses. These products do not claim to kill viruses, which make up most illness that kids get.



Reality: There is no replacement for good old fashioned hand washing. You should sing happy birthday while you wash. Friction is very important. Hand sanitizers can be used before eating, when you cannot get to a sink. If your hands are visibly dirty, hand sanitizers are inappropriate.

I use hand sanitizing lotion several times a day as a nurse's aid/student nurse. Hand washing is not alway practical.

I'm not a scientist, but I do play one on t.v..... Seriously, I did take microbiology in college and we did an experiment where we rubbed our bare hands on a petri dish and grew whatever it would culture for 48 hours. After we did that, we washed our hands with antibacterial soap and did another petri dish. And then we repeated the same process 3 more times, consecutively, so we ended up culturing 5 dishes. Guess which dish had the most bacteria?

The one after washing our hands the most times. The antibacterial properties in soap and hand sanitizers also kills the normal flora on our skin, which helps control the bad bacteria.

That said, I'd rather use hand sanitizer if I didn't have the availability of washing my hands. I keep some on my office desk because I shake a lot of hands during the day and can't always wash. Especially during cold & flu season!