Acceptable Hand Sanitizers You May not Know

 

During the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a shortage of hand sanitizers and rubbing alcohol.

The good news is that there are alternatives. The following is obtained from a CDC article, Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Health-Care Settings. 

Ways to disinfect the hands

Alcohols

Alcohols containing 60-95% are most effective, and higher concentrations are less potent because the viral proteins are not destroyed quickly in the absence of water.

Alcohols are not appropriate for use when hands are visibly dirty. Wash them first with soap and water.

The drying effect of alcohol can be reduced or eliminated by adding 1%–3% glycerol or other skin-conditioning agents.

• Ethanol 60%–95%.
• Isopropanol or isopropyl alcohol – 60%
• N-propanol 

Denatured alcohol

Denatured ethanol is the same as ethanol. The difference is that some chemicals are added to make it unpalatable for consumption.

There are different kinds of chemicals added to denatured alcohol, and some substances may have harmful effects.

An expert panel checked the chemicals added, and they have a report: Final report of the safety assessment of Alcohol Denat.

The additives approved for skin use to denatured alcohol are listed below:

• T-Butyl Alcohol
• Diethyl  Phthalate
• Methyl Alcohol
• Salicylic Acid
• Sodium Salicylate
• Methyl Salicylate
• SD Alcohols 3-A, 30, 39-B, 39-C, and 40-C all

If you want to use denatured alcohol, look at the list of ingredients to make sure that you are using the additives mentioned above. Make sure that it is diluted to 60 – 95%. Water is needed to make alcohol an effective hand sanitizer.

Alcohols are flammable – alcohol-based hand rubs should be stored away from high temperatures or flames. Hand sanitizers should not be stored in places above 105° F or 40.5°C.

Static electricity can generate a static spark and ignite unevaporated alcohol on the hands.

Povidone Iodine

Povidone-iodine, commonly known as Betadine, in 4% and 7.5%, is used as a hand cleanser before doing surgery. Studies have shown that it can kill coronaviruses that caused MERS and SARS in 15 seconds. 2  minutes of exposure is suggested as optimum.

Hypochlorite (Bleach)

The CDC has this instructional on how to make a cleaning solution and handwash from 2.6% liquid bleach. Regular household bleach is sold in 5.25% concentration. To dilute regular bleach for hand washing, do the following:

1. Mix 1 part of 5.25% bleach with 1 part of water to make 2.6% concentration.
2. Mix 4 parts water with 1 part of  2.6% bleach. The resulting concentration is suitable for home disinfection.
3. To make a handwashing solution, Mix 1 part of the solution made from step 2 and mix with 9 parts of water to produce a 0.05% concentration (0.05%) that is safe for handwashing but strong enough for viral killing.
4. Make a fresh solution every day to make it more effective.

Bleach has a strong odor and can be irritating to the skin when used repeatedly.

Benzalkonium Chloride

Benzalkonium chloride is approved by the FDA for hand use for health care personnel.

Effective hand sanitation

Proper handwashing with soap and removes dirt and destroys the virus quickly.

In the absence of soap, the hands should be cleaned free of gross dirt with water to make hand sanitizers more effective.

Dirt on the hands will just absorb the chemicals and render them ineffective.

Methanol in Hand Sanitizers are Bad

Methanol can be absorbed in the skin and can cause problems. There are also cases where hand disinfectants with methanol have been ingested.

The signs of methanol exposure or ingestion are nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision.

If not treated right away, it can lead to permanent blindness, seizures, coma, irreversible damage to the nervous system or death.

The FDA has a list of products known to contain methanol.

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Don’t Get Sick!

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Sources:

Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Health-Care Settings. 

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