Hand sanitizers are often used by people wherever they go: they can be found outside school classrooms, in stores, and even in bathrooms, where research indicates that you should definitely spend the extra 30 seconds washing your hands.
If you’re a frequent user of hand sanitizer, you should read these reasons why you need to kick this habit.
What Hand Sanitizers do
Hand sanitizer is a mixture that contains 60% alcohol that strips your hand of germs, removes excess moisture, and replaces soap and hot water. When you scrub the sanitizer on your hands, it quickly evaporates, and supposedly leaves your hands clean and free of bacteria.
Reasons to Stop Using Conventional Hand Sanitizers
It turns out that hand sanitizer isn’t the simple solution that many believe it to be. If you regularly use hand sanitizer instead of soap and hot water, read along to find out what hand sanitizer can do to your hands and why you need to replace it:
- You may develop resistance to antibiotics. Many hand sanitizers contain triclosan, an antibiotic that supposedly eradicates 99% of the bacteria living on your hands. However, when you use antibiotics when they’re not necessary, the bacteria adapt and become stronger. And then, when you actually need antibiotics, they may be ineffective.
- It might disrupt your hormonal levels. When it comes to triclosan, one of the biggest concerns is what it can do to hormonal levels. According to research, triclosan can disturb the hormone levels, particularly in children and young adults. This can have lifelong effects.
- Hand sanitizer is dangerous to young children because they put everything in their mouths. Since a couple pumps of hand sanitizer is equivalent to several shots of alcohol, it is easy for children or pets to accidentally get alcohol poisoning.
- Triclosan might have a negative effect to your immune system. According to researchers, hand sanitizers are often used in hospitals because of their speed and convenience. However, people who regularly use sanitizer rather than soap have been found to be at higher risk for serious illness.
- Hand sanitizers leave you open to germs and bacteria. The main component of hand sanitizers is alcohol, and regular usage can be extremely drying for your hands. This may make the skin on your hands crack, thus giving bacteria a direct path to your body.
A Natural Solution
If you want a solution that will quickly sanitize your hands, without having to resort to triclosan-laden mixtures, you can make your own hand sanitizer by using healthy and safe ingredients. Get a four ounce spray bottle, fill it halfway with water, and add these ingredients:
- 30 drops of lemon, lime, lavender, or melaleuca oils. Mix and match for a total of 30 drops
- 8 to 10 drops of vitamin E oil
- 2 teaspoons of aloe vera gel
Shake the mixture, spray, and use. The oils in this mixture will leave your hands smooth and soft, instead of dried out and cracked. The essential oils in the sanitizer will kill germs, and protect you just like the more conventional mixtures.
