# Hand Sanitizer??? Safe?



## weezix (Feb 5, 2009)

With all this H1N1 stuff, Hand Sanitizer has become very popular and it is available for use everywhere we go. Is it safe for young kids?? I always thought this stuff was dangerous?


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## Drummer's Wife (Jun 5, 2005)

We don't use it - and my kids are rarely sick. We don't use antibacterial hand soap, either.


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## lunarlady (Jan 4, 2010)

It is made mostly with rubbing alcohol, which should not be ingested but evaporates off surfaces fairly quickly. So it is pretty safe for kids that are old enough not to put their hands in their mouth when the gel is still wet. It does dry out skin, however, and will sting like the devil on even the smallest hangnail or paper cut. For that reason I usually don't use it.


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## fruitfulmomma (Jun 8, 2002)

We use it sometimes when we are out, like at petting zoos. I think it is probably not too bad once in awhile, but as pp said it is really high in alcohol so do NOT allow children access to it.


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## midnightmommy (Apr 14, 2008)

I personally wish it was not used. It gives my husband instant migraines when he smells it. We have to avoid places were parents use it commonly like petting zoos. I wish people would just use soap and water. I personally feel that anything that kills EVERYTHING including the helpful stuff is not something I want on my kids or myself. It is banned in our house, and my son is not to use it at school.


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## blessedwithboys (Dec 8, 2004)

we never use it at home and i usually tell teachers at open house that my ds is not allowed to use it. i want him to use soap and water. i just feel like sanitizer may kill germs, but the germs are still on your hands, so by the time you sit down to eat you not only have urine and fecal residue on your hands (if you just came from the bathroom) but you also still have all sorts of germies on them as well. and then chemicals on top of all that! ewww

so yeah i think the chemicals probably are not entirely safe, but more than that, i worry about the gross factor. were soap and water folks here


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## bella99 (Sep 25, 2008)

We don't use any kind of anti-bacterial products, but we do use hand sanitizer, although not often.

I use it after changing my daughter's diaper (and she likes to "pretend" to use it) or other random times when its most convenient. I do not put it on her hands at all, she's still young and still constantly puts her hands in her mouth, so I'm more comfortable not using it.

If her hands need washing, we use gentle hand soap, but most of the time, just a warm washcloth or a little warm water.

I will say this though: in the last 12 months, I have had H1N1 and a disgusting case of pink eye. And I used the alcohol based hand sanitizer religiously during that time. And no one around me caught either from me. I had a horrible case of H1N1 and was sick with a fever for over a week. I definitely think it has important uses and I feel comfortable using it knowing that it is not anti-microbial.


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

I only use it on the go when there is no where to wash hands and hands need to be cleaned (like after changing a diaper or before we eat), OR when something infectious is going around our house and it's easier to rub that all over my kiddos hands then force them to wash a million times (especially the 2yo). For example, we just had pink eye and used hand sanitizer to keep the kids from spreading it, especially to their baby sister!


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## One_Girl (Feb 8, 2008)

We use it when we aren't somewhere with easy access to water. I also encouraged my dd to use it when she was resistant to washing her hands in the sink, luckily we found a soap dispenser shaped like an animal and that phase is gone. I think it is better than nothing. I have seen teachers who have kids use it when they come into the classroom for years, long before the H1N1 stuff, because it is quicker and more practical than having 25 kids wash their hands each time they come in. It is also nice to use as a teacher because I can't leave the classroom everytime I blow my nose, but I can use hand sanitizer.


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## TheGirls (Jan 8, 2007)

We use it only very rarely, such as when I have to change a poopy diaper right before eating with no access to water. Though I don't generally carry it,so only if I can borrow some or there is some publically available at that time. DD has never used it. In most situations I prefer to skip washing rather than use sanitizer.


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## ThisCat (Jun 19, 2010)

We don't do antibacterial soaps with triclosan and such, but I have no problems with alcohol which is the active ingredient in most hand sanitizers. It is dangerous if ingested, but otherwise I think it's perfectly safe. I keep some in the car for when soap and water is not an option.

I just make sure my toddler doesn't stick his hands in his mouth while they're still wet. He usually likes to mimic me waving my hands to dry though which is pretty cute.









I will admit that I am more comfortable using my EO unscented sanitizer made with organic alcohol and jojoba oil







than the Purell that many places have available for people to use, but in a pinch, I'll use whatever. I hate sickness.


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## deditus (Feb 22, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *weezix* 
With all this H1N1 stuff, Hand Sanitizer has become very popular and it is available for use everywhere we go. Is it safe for young kids?? I always thought this stuff was dangerous?

No, not all , or adults. I know that the alcohol is a concern in some products (that a child may drink it, it has happened many many times) but there is also nasty ingredients like triclosan. We don't use any chemical antibacterial products.

http://www.ewg.org/triclosanguide

We do use this product that is thyme based only when necessary, such as traveling or hiking:

http://www.cleanwelltoday.com/


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## ThisCat (Jun 19, 2010)

While there may be an exception, I've never seen an alcohol based hand sanitizer that has triclosan or other antibacterials in it too. I didn't see it specifically listed as a product of concern in the link the PP provided either.

Of course just like most commercial personal care products, there are various other chemicals like fragrance and so on in the popular brands of hand sanitizer, but alcohol is what's killing the germs. Alcohol is not in and of itself dangerous IMO. Ingestion would be my only concern.


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## laughingfox (Dec 13, 2005)

It depends on the hand sanitizer. Some are more chemical-ridden than others.

I generally use it like other PPs, only when hand washing isn't an option and I've changing diapers just before mealtime, etc.

My 8 year old DD uses it, but I don't know at what age I'd consider it "safe". It depends on the kid, I suppose.


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## leighi123 (Nov 14, 2007)

When my ds has used it, he gets a rash all over his hands. He is super sensitive to chemicals, so thats probably why. So we dont use it. I am soooo not paranoid about germs, and ds has NEVER been sick due to illness, never even had a cough or cold (and he is almost 3)


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## kittywitty (Jul 5, 2005)

I hate it. I don't use it ever with my kids or myself and when we get sick, it's always from sick family members who cough on us and such, and we always wash our hands well. My dh is a chemist, and I used to work in a few hospitals in patient care, so we've researched it pretty thoroughly.

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/s...48&newsLang=en

http://chemistry.about.com/b/2009/03...erial-soap.htm


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## Asiago (Jul 1, 2009)

A pump of alcohol sanitizer is easy and convenient. We usually use it when out of the house- or we use the thyme sanitizer. I also use vinegar sometimes (I put it in small spray bottles), but it smells funky.

Soap and water is our first choice though, whenever it is possible.


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## Ammaarah (May 21, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *fruitfulmomma* 
We use it sometimes when we are out, like at petting zoos. I think it is probably not too bad once in awhile, but as pp said it is really high in alcohol so do NOT allow children access to it.

Same here, and if I visit anyone in the hospital, I usually use it before and after and then wash my hands as soon as I'm out of the hospital. The only time I've used it consistently for days is when I had a wound complication after surgery, and it was pretty drying to my hands. But it was a necessary evil, IMO.


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## Hannah'sMommy (Oct 12, 2009)

The only time I use hand sanitizer is when I don't have immediate access to soap and water. I also wouldn't use it on young kids.


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## meemee (Mar 30, 2005)

my dd is almost 8 and she likes using it once in a while.

its her decision - not mine.

i dont use it at all. one of the reasons why i dont is because both dd and i have super good immunity so dont need those to not only kill of good bacteria, but also to make the bad bacteria become immune to stuff when i do really need to use it.


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## Llyra (Jan 16, 2005)

I am especially wary of hand sanitizer as a substitute for soap and water after using the toilet. Hand sanitizer is relatively ineffective against some of the GI illnesses that are typically spread through having fecal bacteria or viruses on the hands. For example, they are only marginally effective against norovirus, the most common cause of gasteroenteritis in people over age 2. They are also not terribly effective against e coli bacteria.

I think they're reasonably okay in a pinch, but I wouldn't depend on them. They are dangerous when ingested, and some of them have inactive ingredients like fragrance and coloring that I wouldn't guess are too safe.

We try not to use them. I do use one occasionally at work. I work with young children in a setting that doesn't allow for much soap-and-water washing. But I don't let my kids use them, and when DD1's school tried to get rid of the soap in the bathrooms and just have hand sanitizer, I was outraged and spoke up.


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## shnitzel (Jan 6, 2010)

I try not to.
It was only designed to be used by health professionals who are constantly seeing sick people. It contributes to the development of superbugs and is over used and misused.

I do plan on using it next time I fly b/c my daughter touches everything and always gets sick after flying but other than that I avoid it as much as possible.
I am a recovering purel addict.


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## ThisCat (Jun 19, 2010)

Quote:

It contributes to the development of superbugs and is over used and misused.
The ubiquitous alcohol based hand sanitizers do _not_ contribute to superbugs. Products with triclosan and benzalkonium chloride are another story.


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## weezix (Feb 5, 2009)

well thanks for all the responses. i think i'll just stick to keeping a small tube of it in the car for when we need hands washed but no soap/water available. i guess i'll try not to freak out when my kids put in on their hands wherever we go. around here its available at every store for public use. ever since h1n1 ever shopping store, doctors office, anywhere...has it right there for people to use...and i think its just the idea of squirting something on their hands that the kids love.


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