Hand sanitiser overuse!

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Really? Legally, inactive ingredients making up more than .1% and active more than .01% must be listed. So all our cleansing products (and more) are not doing this? Why has no-one analysed this and/or reported to the authorities?

Oh yes, because any extras fall within those tiny tolerances and are near enough not there at all. Rainwater contains more additional chemicals than do hand creams but we din't melt when caught with no brolly.

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Seriously why does everything have to turn into an argument use it if you will, but the original poster was trying to find ways to stop using it...........

It's not an argument Eenee it's a discussion. Something that we welcome a lot of here on BellyBelly. And just because someone questions a point of view doesn't mean it's a personal attack or that you are wrong in what you see as a personal risk or belief.

Please don't let this get off track. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But I do ask that everyone remains respectful no matter what.

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Ok. Self-confessed fellow hand-sanitiser lover here.

BUT: Thing 1. When you're at home and you've got a nice moisturising liquid hand wash and a lovely clean towel to dry with afterwards, actually washing your hands will remove any germies. Thorough handwashing technique will beat hand sanitiser anytime.

Thing 2. Nothing wrong with a bottle in your handbag for those times when you can't avoid touching the door handle on the way out of the public toilets... or when there's no soap ... or when the person using the ATM in front of you has coughed all over the place... or when you just really need some sanitiser to cleanse psychological ick factor (LOL).

Thing 3. For times when you really *need* the sanitiser, use one with a more moisturising effect. I use the Aqium gel - because it seems to have some kind of moisturising thing in there. It's one of the reasons it is used widely in hospitals.

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Not helping with the addiction here, but sanitiser is way better at removing germs then hand washing alone. In fact it is so good that hospitals now recommend it over hand washing for hand hygiene.
It will seriously damage the skin on your hands though. I am constantly using it at work and only heavy duty hand moisturisers will touch the dryness. It will also ruin your nails.

I have just started using the nature direct spray as a hand sanitizer it's all natural and smells good!

Sorbolene cream actually helps kill the rhinovirus that can lead to a cold. So putting that on your hands to moisturise is probably helping your germ killing. ;)

Avagard is the brand my hospital uses. I've just discovered you can buy it online *oh dear*!!!

Nice to see such lively evidence based discussion. (With full respect to those of differing views/opinions.)

Personally I've found the liquid hand alcoholic hand sanitizers less drying than the gels but I'm not sure what brands are available retail (speaking from hospital workplace experience).

My fave hand moisturizer is the l'occitane Shea butter one. It's one of my little indulgences.

Black-rose I have the nature direct hand sanitizer too but I'm doubtful. Does it really do anything? It's just essential oils isn't it?
I use it on the high hair after I've cleaned it and on toys etc but I'm not sure I would trust it to rid my hands of germs if I didn't have access to soap and water.

It's has clove and eucalyptus which are naturally bacterial this is from the website


EnviroMist is a natural disinfectant and odour eliminator made from a blend of water soluble organic plant extracts (e-oils): clove, cypress, eucalyptus, mint, pine, rosemary, savoury and thyme.

EnviroMist kills bacteria such as Salmonella, E-coli and Staphylococcus aureus which can cause food borne illnesses. It eradicates Listeria and Campylobacter which thrive in refrigerators and can cause food poisoning, as well as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus from damp and wet areas around the home.

I think pure alcohol is the common disinfectant in many cheaper sanitisers and that would really dry out the skin. Jurlique and Aesop do natural ones but they're heaps pricier.

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Not helping with the addiction here, but sanitiser is way better at removing germs then hand washing alone. In fact it is so good that hospitals now recommend it over hand washing for hand hygiene.

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Agreed, BUT OP doesn't live in a hospital. And the germ removal thing applies to not hopping germs from patient to patient. But alcohol rubs doesn't actually wash stuff away the same way that soap and water does. Handwashing is still better in instances where your hands might be actually dirty - which is probably most household applications.