With the current pandemic, you must ensure that your hands are clean to prevent the virus’s spread. Without soap and water availability, people have been advised to use normal and hospital hand sanitizer to keep the microbes away. But is it safe to use these hand sanitizers? People are also wondering if they are effective enough to get the job done.
To get rid of all germs, physical dirt, and grease, water, and soap are the better options. Hand sanitizers only get rid of the fungi, viruses, and bacteria, but it does not eliminate other types of dirt that may be present on your hands.
This article will discuss the pros and cons of using hand sanitizers to understand the topic better.
Pros
A hand sanitizer is very effective against germs. If your hands are not physically dirty, a hand sanitizer will do the job of killing microorganisms. A hand sanitizer helps prevent the transmission of microbes.
Hand sanitizers that contain emollients can be useful for your skin. Emollients act as moisturizers that prevent your hands from drying. Sometimes soap may contain harsh chemicals that may dry out your skin. Therefore, as you buy a hand sanitizer, ensure that it contains emollients in its ingredient list.
Hand sanitizers are always available as you can carry a bottle with you everywhere. You may not always have water and soap accessibility; hence, in such cases, you should always ensure that you have a small bottle of hand sanitizer with you to kill the germs that you collect around.
Cons
Hand sanitizers may lead to alcohol toxicity due to large amounts of ethyl and isopropyl alcohol. They should be kept out of reach of children and only used under an adult’s supervision.
When ingested, the toxicity of alcohol may also lead to alcohol poisoning, especially among children. Most sanitizers contain triclosan, a component that may lead to alcohol toxicity. Research indicates that children have a high likelihood of swallowing scented, colored, and attractively packaged sanitizers. Alcohol toxicity may even lead to death if first aid is not done on time.
If you frequently use a hand sanitizer, they may wash away your skin’s natural oils, especially if the sanitizer does not have many emollients. The harsh chemicals may cause drying and cracking, and your skin may look dehydrated, irritated, and unattractive. Cracked skin may become an entry point for microbes to enter your body, which may cause infection.
Hand sanitizers contain very high alcohol volumes, which may become a fire hazard. The liquid is highly flammable, and in the presence of fire, one may get burnt.
Hand sanitizers may lead to antibiotic resistance due to the presence of triclosan, an antibacterial agent that makes our bodies develop drug resistance. Triclosan kills the good bacteria in our bodies, leaving us vulnerable to bacterial infections.
Final thoughts
Hand sanitizers are quite harmful to the body as they contain chemicals. You should only use hand sanitizers in cases where there is no available water and soap. However, hand sanitizers are effective in killing bacteria, and if you need to use one, you should make homemade sanitizers that do not contain harmful chemicals.
