H1N1 FLU PREVENTION – When to use a alcohol based hand sanitizer?

A hand sanitizer is an excellent alternative to hand washing when soap & water are not available!

About H1N1 Prevention & hand hygiene! Alcohol-based hand sanitizers — which don’t require water — are an excellent alternative to hand washing, when soap and water aren’t available. A hand sanitizer is actually MORE effective than soap and water in killing bacteria and viruses that cause disease! For, organisms cannot develop resistance to alcohol, and commercially prepared hand sanitizers contain ingredients that help prevent skin dryness.

But one should be aware that not all hand sanitizers are created with likewise substances. Some “waterless” hand sanitizers do not contain any alcohol. In general one should use only the alcohol-based products. The American CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommends choosing products that contain at least 60 percent alcohol. This is how to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer: • 1 – Apply 1/2 teaspoon of the product to the palm of your hand. • 2 – Rub your hands together, covering all surfaces of your hands, until they’re dry. NOTICE:If your hands are visibly dirty, however, wash with soap and water, if available, rather than a sanitizer!!! SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING: • ‘Hand hygiene’: a starting point for H1N1 flu prevention! • About health, hands & ‘hand hygiene’! • Did you know that warm air dryers increase bacteria on hands? • Hand facts on hand hygiene! PICTURE: How a hand sanitizer works!

OCTOBER 15 – Did you miss the ‘Global HandWashing Day’ as well?

The driving theme for Global Handwashing Day is children and schools, and the main objectives of this global celebration are: • Foster & support global culture of handwashing with soap. • Shine a light on state of handwashing in each country. • Raise awareness about benefits of handwashing with soap. Read more at: GlobalHandWashingDay.org and remember: Handwashing & Hand Hygiene is the major prevention against swine flu! A funny recommendation: “Wash your hands with hands!” A few more important reminders in the perspective of the current H1N1 swine flue pandemic are: • Don’t think that you can wash your hands properly without using soap! • Don’t think that a hand sanitizer is meant to replace handwashing! • The best way to make sure your hands are clean is to wash them for twenty seconds several times a day! MORE DETAILS AVAILABLE AT: • Hands on ‘hand hygiene’! • Swine flu prevention is a matter of ‘hand hygiene’! • Hand Hygiene: warm air dryers increase bacteria on hands! • More hand hygiene news!

Health warning: why hand sanitizers may increase risk of swine flu exposure!

Recently Q-Based Healthcare, a producer of non-alcohol-based hand sanitizers, warned: ‘alcoholic hand sanitizers increase risk of swine flu exposure’. Why can many hand sanitizers (such as the popular Dettol) cause more health problems than they prevent? Recent news reports indicate that retail stores are seeing a dangerous reduction in the inventory levels of hand sanitizer. As more people become concerned and flock to the stores to stock up on alcohol-based hand sanitizers, a bigger crisis is being created. Did you know that alcohol-based sanitizers work by stripping away residue from the hands, and unfortunately that includes the natural oils produced by our body? Most hand wipes and liquid hand sanitizers are alcohol based (or petroleum). The problem with these products is that Alcohol dries the skin causing cracks – creating an opening which provides a direct pathway for disease to the human bloodstream. That’s why the use of hand sanitizers may actually worsen the current major global health threat: the mexican flu (a.k.a. the swine flu)! When a hand sanitizer includes an alcohol or a petroleum by-product, that hand wash also presents a real possibility for toxic exposure, whether it includes organic ingredients or not! Source: PR Web SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING: • Hand Hygiene: Warm Air Dryers increase Bacteria on Hands! • What are the missing spots during hand washing? How to use hand sanitizers properly?